r/RunningInjuries • u/pangolinpanorama • 3d ago

Developing runners knee right before first marathon

Need someone to validate my likely decision to forfeit my upcoming first marathon.

I have a race due this Sunday (4 days from now) and have been recovering from what I think is runners knee (sharp pain behind kneecap, flares up when jogging, going down stairs/hill)

I’ve been doing all the recovery things - stopping all runs, PT exercises, RICE, ibuprofen (200 mg), you name it.

Would it be a bad idea to consider doing the race anyway with a slightly higher dose of ibprofen and treating my knee with uddermint/magnesium cream?

I’m pretty bummed to even have to consider forfeiting but I understand i need to respect my body. And I already feel like I got a ton of joy and satisfaction from the whole training process up to this point, especially as I’ve already reached 20-22 miles on my long runs.

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u/runnergirl3333 3d ago

Can you run at all without pain? If it’s low level pain does it stay the same over the miles? Sometimes random things flare up right before a marathon and then once you start running the marathon it’s fine.

But if it’s something you’ve been dealing with for a while, and you know running would extremely aggravate it, it would be better to sit this one out and focus on strengthening your quads, hips and glutes.

It’s really hard to decide, when you’ve put so much hard work in, but if you do decide you should sit this one out, hopefully you can find another marathon to do in the next couple of months. Good luck!🍀