Should I run through pain?
Run through muscle soreness and general fatigue, but never run through sharp, localized, or worsening pain. Use the traffic light rule: green (dull ache that improves after 10 minutes of running) is okay; yellow (persistent dull pain) means reduce mileage; red (sharp or worsening pain) means stop immediately.
The answer depends on the type of pain. General muscle soreness, stiffness from yesterday's hard workout, or the early fatigue of a run — these are normal and you can run through them. They're usually gone by 10-15 minutes into the run. Sharp, localized, worsening, or asymmetric pain is different — that's your body telling you something is structurally wrong, and running through it makes it worse. Use the traffic light rule: GREEN (safe to run) — dull soreness that improves after warming up, mild fatigue, muscle tightness that eases. YELLOW (modify) — persistent dull pain at one spot that doesn't warm up away, mild limp, swelling after runs. Reduce mileage by 30-50%, add recovery, strengthen weak areas, see a physio if it persists past 10-14 days. RED (stop immediately) — sharp stabbing pain, pain that makes you limp, pain that wakes you at night, swelling with heat, pain on a specific bony point, or pain that worsens during the run instead of improving. Stop running, ice, and see a sports doctor within a week. Never run through red-flag pain — it commonly turns a 2-week injury into a 2-month injury. The old-school 'no pain no gain' mentality destroys more recreational runners than overtraining does.