I Have Runner’s Knee and Running in a Race Makes My Knee Hurt

If your knee starts hurting while you are running in a race, the faster pace and repeated strides can put more stress on your kneecap area and make runner’s knee pain increase.

If your knee feels okay during an easy run but starts aching, tightening, or hurting once you are racing, the difference may be the intensity rather than running itself. During a race, you may naturally run faster and push harder, which increases the demands on the area around and behind your kneecap.

Runner’s knee, also called patellofemoral pain, often involves pain around or behind the kneecap as the knee repeatedly bends and straightens. When you increase your pace and keep that effort going, the quadriceps and other muscles around your knee have to keep working, which can make an already painful area harder to tolerate.

Your Faster Race Pace Makes Your Knee Work Harder

A race pace increases the demands placed on your knee with every stride.

When you speed up during a race, your strides often become quicker and more forceful than they are during an easy training run. Your kneecap has to keep moving smoothly as your knee bends and straightens, and an irritated area may start hurting when you ask it to handle that faster rhythm.

The Pain Becomes More Noticeable As The Race Continues

Keeping a hard pace can leave the muscles around your knee increasingly fatigued.

You may start the race feeling good and then notice your knee becoming sore as the miles pass. As your legs tire, maintaining the same pace becomes harder, and the knee may begin to feel more painful with each repeated stride instead of settling down as it did during the beginning of the race.

Why Your Knee Hurts During Race Running

Your knee has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your knee feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Knee Feel Better

Your knee starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why Does Running In A Race Make My Runner’s Knee Hurt?

Race pace can increase the demands on your knee, making pain around or behind the kneecap more noticeable during running.

Why Does My Knee Feel Fine During Training But Hurt In A Race?

You may run faster or push harder during a race, which can make your knee hurt even when easier training runs feel manageable.

Why Does My Knee Start Hurting Later In The Race?

Repeated running and increasing leg fatigue can make runner’s knee pain more noticeable as the race continues.

Can Running Faster Make Runner’s Knee Hurt More?

Yes. Increasing your running pace can increase the demands on your knee and make existing runner’s knee pain worse.

Should I Keep Racing If My Knee Hurts?

If your knee pain is increasing during a race, stopping or reducing the activity and having persistent symptoms evaluated can help prevent further problems.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.