Running with a cold: why you shouldn’t even think about it – trust me, I did and I felt a lot worse afterwards
Pavel Toropov had headaches, fever and night sweats, but didn’t want to waste months of training. He soon regretted his 50km race in Hong Kong. Others have suffered more after mistaking pneumonia for a cold. So what to do?
For a week, I woke up to find my sheets soaked in sweat. During the day, the headache and fever were unpleasant, but not bad enough, I concluded, to waste months of training at altitude, and an invitation to join the MSIG Sai Kung 50km trail race in Hong Kong. I decided to run and “sweat the cold out”.
On race day, adrenaline and excitement fizzled out quickly – soon followed by strength and energy. I dragged myself listlessly over the hills of Sai Kung, sweating profusely from humidity and fever, feeling sorry for myself, until the finish line.
The following day, the fever grew worse, and muscular cramps and spasms grew so severe that I was unable to lie down or sleep. A doctor said bluntly that to have gone running while aware of the symptoms was foolish.
Remaining highly active would likely only prolong your recovery or make the illness worse
Many runners suffer from fitness-loss anxiety – they fear they will gain weight if they do not run for two days, and that an irreversible decline in fitness will surely follow if they take more than a week off. Whether to allow this anxiety to drive you out of your front door despite the bodily discomfort and the nagging suspicions that you may do yourself more harm than good with a run is a million-dollar question. A Google search on “running with a cold” unleashes a mass of entries.
They are all reassuringly standard in their advice, which is also reassuringly common-sense.
The “above the neck rule” crops up a lot, in one form or another. Basically, do not run if your symptoms, such as chest pain, bodily aches, bronchial problems, are below the neck. Those above it – runny nose, stuffiness and sneezing do not warrant skipping a run, but you should take it easy.
Dr Dominic Teichmánn, a UK doctor and a senior member of Exile Medics, a non-profit organisation that provides medical assistance to ultramarathons around the world, says taking it easy is key.
