Running Through February Update

After just one month we are excited to have recruited over 1500 participants to our Running Through study.

The volunteers who have agreed to share their running data and complete weekly updates on their health status will help us investigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on runners training, injury, illness and recovery.

We have featured in local, national and international media thanks to a University of Nottingham Press Release. Recordings of me discussing the study on BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC East Midlands Today and Notts TV can be viewed at the end of this post, along with links to print articles.

We have also been approached by British Nordic Walking to include Nordic walkers in our study and we were happy to agree. As  the study is live we can’t change the questions now but Nordic Walkers can participate by completing the survey and substituting the word Nordic Walking for run or jog.  British Nordic Walking have made a helpful step by step guide to show how walkers can join in our study. If enough walkers share their data we will be able to do a sub-analysis specifically looking at the impact of the pandemic on walkers and also the health benefits and injury risks associated with Nordic Walking.

The study is looking to recruit participants globally and from next week we will also have questionnaires in Spanish, French and Portuguese so please share with your international friends.

We also have questions from people wanting to know if they are suitable for the study. Unfortunately we can only collect data from people who are over 18. However, we do want you whether  you have had Covid-19, never had Covid-19 or are still suffering from symptoms of long-Covid. 

If you are a former runner but you have stopped due to the pandemic, we still want you to register now and hopefully as you return to physical activity you will be able to share your data with us through your Strava and Garmin accounts. We will then be able to analyse data on your return to fitness to develop recommendations for other people wanting to return to running after developing long-Covid. When you initially complete the survey answer zero for the amount of miles and sessions you currently participate in, but answer which is your favourite event based on your past running experience.

If you have any questions please email RunningThrough@Nottingham.ac.uk and visit the website runningthrough.org to learn more and take part