Muscle cramps are so annoying and can be very debilitating in the middle of a race, so what causes them and what can you do to prevent them?
Muscle cramps are involuntary contractions of muscles from excessively excited nerves over stimulating them. There are many different reason why you might get them and the solution that helps will depend on why you had them to start with.
Possible reasons:
- Dehydration
- Low electrolytes (calcium, potassium, magnesium)
- Muscle fatigue
- Muscle tightness
- Genetic predisposition (you can’t do anything about this.)
Solutions:
- Run more to prepare muscles.
- Stay hydrated with a drink containing electrolytes.
- Stretch out the effected muscle.
- Distract the nervous system with pickle water, chilli or mustard. Pickle water also contains sodium.
Running Tips by Coach Julie 