If you’re planning to join the thousands of runners who take part in fun runs around Australia each year, you’ll need the three Ps: preparation, patience, and persistence.

A report by Sports Medicine magazine suggests that the probability of a runner developing an injury is 56%. Factor in a recurrence rate of injury as high as 70%, and you’ll understand why preparation is key to reduce injury.

Causes of injury

But there are some surprising findings in the report. Conditions such as age, body mass, hill-running, and running on hard surfaces have few effects on developing injury. But there is a clear link between previous injury, lack of experience, excessive distance, competition running and developing injuries.

Patience

To reduce your risk of injury in a race event you don’t just need careful preparation. You also need patience. One of the key reasons that inexperienced runners develop a running related injury is because they try to do too much, too soon. You need to get your body gradually attuned to the task ahead.

Go easy!

When training, limit your running to three days a week. Any more and you could risk burning yourself out. A recent study suggested that runners can actually improve their 10K time with a 77% /3%/ 20% low/medium/high training routine – meaning you should factor in more "easy" days than "medium" training days into your workout.

Variety

On a "hard" day, try running sprints on an incline to help you work on your pace and strength. On the other days, gradually work on your distance. You don’t have to run the whole time – beginners should add walking to the mix – the important thing is to keep moving. If you think of running injuries as a repetitive strain injury you’ll understand why it makes sense to build a lot of variety into your routine. Change your shoes, change your terrain, change your speeds – these will help avoid injury caused by constant repetition, plus make your workout a lot more interesting.

Recover

On non-running days, your body will need to recover. A hard run causes a lot of muscle damage, and if you don’t rest and repair, you could find yourself falling into the injury cycle. Factor in lots of healthy food and plenty of stretching. Before and after stretching is vital to help keep your muscles loose which helps them grow and strengthen.

Mix it up

Cross-training is a great idea on your non-running days. Try martial arts, swimming or cycling to keep your body moving and your motivation levels high. Resistance training is crucial to prevent muscle imbalances from too much running. Building up strong muscles also helps you to build up speed.

Get appy

There are plenty of running apps available to help you monitor your running and chart your progress. Use them to help you find a great routine that works for you, and don’t forget to factor in stretching, warm-ups and pace into your routine.

Injured? The Yellow Pages has more than 5000 sports medicine practitioners around Australia. Find someone who can help get you back on the road.