" Running injuries There are many injuries associated with running (due to it being a high impact activity). Common injuries are "runner's knee" (pain in the knee), shin splints, pulled muscles (especially the hamstring), "jogger's nipple" (soreness of the nipple due to friction), twisted ankles, and Iliotibial Band Syndrome . The most common running related injuries are due to over-use. Repetitive stress on the same tissues without enough time for recovery or due to improper form or muscle imbalances, leads to many of the above. Generally these can be minimized by warming up beforehand, wearing proper running shoes, improving running form, performing strengthening exercises, and getting enough rest. There is a very strong consensus among the running and scientific community that all of those can be very effective in minimizing or recovering from running injuries. Another injury prevention method that is very commonly recommended in the running community, but is actually controversial is stretching. North Carolina Running Race While stretching is often recommended as a near requirement to avoid running injuries, the relevant medical literature does not represent as much of a consensus that it is effective. Some studies find that it is and some find that it really isn't helpful at all. "

" Slow jogging is pure exercise, with no practical application. Because jogging is inefficient, it's often associated with poor form. Joggers, or runners who are jogging, sometimes move in ways that wouldn't be done in a competitive running situation: excessively bounding into the air, landing heavily on the heel, carrying the arms too high, and so forth. For these reasons, "jogger" and "jogging" are considered derogatory terms by some athletes who consider themselves runners. Other people use the terms "running" and "jogging" interchangeably, and see nothing derogatory about "jogging". Jogging is also used for active recovery intervals during interval training. The runner who may just have completed a fast 400 meter repetition at a sub-5-minute mile pace, may drop to an 8 minute mile pace for a recovery lap. Running Race Numbers The jog might be carried out in much poorer, looser form whose purpose is to "shake out" the body and maintain circulation to eliminate the waste products of exercise metabolism. Competitive running Perhaps the most basic of athletic contests, running races are simply contests to determine which of the competitors is able to run a certain distance fastest. "