Standard disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one anywhere. The following is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your doctor if you have questions about your specific illness or circumstances.
The advice I’ve heard about running while sick is:
- If your symptoms are ‘above the neck’ (i.e. stuffy nose, headache, etc.) it’s okay to run
- Listen to your body
Good advice, I think, but it’s so general that it might not give you enough to go on to make a good decision. So, if those two tips aren’t enough, here are some more specific questions you may want ask yourself when deciding whether to run:
- How hard have you been training?
If you’re in a hard training phase, consider the possibility that you may have gotten sick because you’ve trained so much that you’ve lowered your resistance. If this is the case, you may want to take a rest day (or a few).
- How long have you been sick for?
Putting aside other factors, if you’re just starting to get sick, you may want to take a rest day or a light cross-training day. It seems to me that I end up being sick longer when I try to work out during the early phases of a cold, but running later on makes me feel like I’m getting back to normal more quickly.
- How much stress do you currently have in your life?
This question is somewhat related to question #1. If you are currently under a lot of stress (long hours at work, extra family obligations, etc.), you should probably rest instead of working out.
For more thoughts on this subject, check out the following:
- Running a Fever? Feeling Sick? . . . Suggestions on When to Take a Day Off
- Should you run if you are sick?
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