Running is awesome. It clears the mind, goes well with music or a podcast, it can be done from your doorstep and it’s free! Anyone who treats injuries will tell you that the majority of running related injuries don’t come from falling, they come from pushing further or harder than our bodies are ready for. And how are we to know how much is enough and what could push us too far? That part is a challenge for everyone. In this case, think of the postpartum period as recovering from an injury you’ve never had before and one that there simply hasn’t been enough research done on to date.

The guidelines mentioned above were created by three physiotherapists - two are pelvic health specialists, one is a running specialist. They looked at the current research relating to pregnancy, the postnatal period, running biomechanics, and all research to date on running demands in general. They then combined this with their years of knowledge and experience to publish much needed guidelines. But to call a spade a spade, sport science research has historically been very male focused. Primarily because men's participation in sport is more established and women were seen to be more difficult to study because of the menstrual cycle.