Running Cramps

by Andrew

Hello, my name is Andrew.
I am a fourteen year old boy.
I recently started your beginning running program to reach 30 minutes of running.

I started running at the 5 x 1 min walking, 4 min running level because I knew I could easily do it.

I followed the program for about a week when one day i was running a mile at school for PE and towards the end I got a cramp right below my right ribs.

I got the same cramp 2 days later at a theme park running from ride to ride, and 2 days after that when I did my daily running. The first time I got it, it came at the very end of running, so I thought it was normal, but then when I did my daily running it came after only about 2 minutes of running. I continued running and then the pain also came right below my left ribs.

Today when I was in school the cramps came back except I wasn't running at all, I was just walking. I asked my friend who was in the school running club and he wasn't sure why it was happening.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? I don't run a lot, only 5 days a week, maybe 1-2 miles of jogging with breaks in between, but yet the cramps keep coming and I can't run for more than 5 minutes straight with the pain. Please help me!

Answer by Dominique:

Hi Andrew.
Thanks for your question.
When you have pain when running, there must be something going on. From what you are telling me I am not sure if this is something a bit more serious and it could be wise to go see a doctor.
I am not a medical expert and have to tell you to go to a doctor if problems persist. After all, it would be unwise for you to just take any advice from a guy that builds a running website for fun!

Having said that, a few causes which are not medical that could cause your running cramps are:

Shallow breathing

If you do not breathe in deeply enough, eventually you will pretty much just run out of oxygen and this can cause a side-stitch. So, make sure you do your running at an easy pace. I often call it conversational pace, if you were running with a buddy, you'd have to be able to hold a conversation with him while running.
If you are a beginning runner, that's definitely the thing to do. And as you run at this pace it is also easier to focus a bit more on your breathing and to make sure that you really take in deep breaths to avoid running cramps caused by your breathing.

Eating just before running

Another common cause of running cramps is eating too much or not enough before you run. This can cause stomach aches.

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