The 15 Most Ridiculously Horrible Pieces of Advice Runners Have Ever Been Given

“You should drink very little water at the start of your marathon and none at all the second half.” He didn’t have any reasoning for this, but he knew it was correct. — Cashatoo

Don’t run. Running is terrible for you. Running will ruin your knees. (From a medical professional…that was overweight and had admitted to not ever having run a mile or really even exercised much).” — zufriedenpursuit

(In case you were wondering, here’s solid evidence that it’s just false).

Not even kidding, but one time a guy told me to start smoking because it makes your lungs bigger, thereby giving more lung capacity. I was told this as a student in X-ray school by a clinical instructor (who smoked btw). He was correct that smokers have larger lungs, but what he evidently didn’t realize was because it’s due to emphysema. — kstreeter513

My completely sedentary brother in law who is fad-dieting keto trying to tell me that I don’t need to eat carbs. Motherf-----,I run 65+ miles a week, don’t tell me I can’t have my pasta and bread. — Hooch_Pandersnatch

(Here’s the right way to carb load before a race, though).

If you’re not throwing up, you aren’t pushing your hardest. You should be throwing up at the end of every race. — I_have_spaghetti

[Set real goals with a Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]

I had my not-runner friend persuading me to only run on treadmill, because it’s “somehow” designed to be healthier for my form. — removed_deleted

(You still can get a good workout on a treadmill, though: Try these treadmill routines to build speed and endurance).

“Make your strides as long as you can. Think about it, the fewer steps you have to take over the same distance, the faster you’ll be!” — Llewey

Eat 30 to 40 chocolate almonds before a long run to maximize energy and endurance....never again!!! — stupid_prize_winner

An old alcoholic neighbor called me up, said he saw me running and told me to “clench my buttocks” when I run. I’m not sure if he remembers, but I try to avoid him now. — BertManigert

“It’s the week before your marathon, you should be running as many miles as possible to keep your training up!” Said by a friend who’s never run a marathon, to me the week before my 7th marathon. Uh, yeah. Sure. I’ll get right on that 10 miler. — Clarinator5000

Don’t run. That’s what a coworker told me. He then said that running was bad for me because it was depleting my immune system. In his own words, running a marathon would leave my body in a state akin to a HIV infection, and even a flu could easily kill me then. — Bruncvik

Every time when you go for a run, run hard. I did this 5x a week for 18 weeks, I felt agitated and tired for the entire training cycle. Luckily I didn’t encounter injuries because of it. — syuusuke

“If you’re sick, then the best remedy is running!” Cut to me getting worse. —leostacks1

You shouldn’t eat during the last 48 hours before marathon. It’s impressive that my father-in-law has actually finished marathons following this advice. — leevei

A trainer at my gym suggested I only lift weights to train for my first half marathon. — Couyon