How to Run Safely Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Answers to your most frequently asked questions as the virus continues to spread.


Jordan Smith |

This is a rapidly developing situation. For the most up-to-date information, check resources like the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and World Health Organization (WHO) regularly.

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, causing running races – and many other large events – to be postponed and cancelled, you might be wondering what you should do for your own personal health and how this could affect your training.

RELATED: How Coronavirus Is Impacting Running Events

We tapped two experts; David Nieman, Dr.PH., health professor at Appalachian State University and director of the Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus, and Brian Labus, Ph.D., MPH, assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, to help answer runners’ most frequently asked questions.

Is it safe to run outside?

Yes – in fact, it’s safer to be outside than inside when it comes to disease transmission. When people congregate together and someone sneezes or coughs, droplets get onto objects that people touch, and then people touch their face, Nieman explains. The best plan for running right now is to go out for a solo run and enjoy the outdoors.

Getting in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to brisk activity can help your immune system keep viruses at bay. Be sure you know what’s going on in your area and if there are any restrictions or mandatory self-quarantines. And, if you’re sick or at-risk of spreading the virus, you shouldn’t go out.

During a quarantine, Nieman suggests doing some exercise while staying where you are quarantined to keep healthy—doing bodyweight exercises or running on an at-home treadmill are great ways to do this. Unless you’re sick.

RELATED: 9 Essential Weight-Training Exercises For Runners

“If you do have flu or coronavirus, or have fever, sick people think wrongly they can ‘exercise the virus out of the system’ or ‘sweat it out,’ that’s a myth. It’s actually the opposite,” Neiman says.

Should you avoid running in groups?

Your exposure to sick people running outside should be minimal, as someone who has a fever and a cough won’t feel like going for a run, Labus says. It is now compulsory to wear a mask when running, walking or cycling outside.

RELATED: How Many of These Running Etiquette Rules Do You Know?

If you find yourself in a group or on a crowded route, you could protect yourself a bit by spreading out and avoiding unnecessary hand-touching. And of course, don’t forget to wash your hands when you get back.

Should I avoid touching traffic light buttons?

The latest data with the novel coronavirus is that it does not last very long on objects outside because of the exposure to sunlight. In general, objects outside should have little virus on them, Nieman explained. However, there could be a problem if someone coughs into his or her hand immediately before touching a traffic button, and then you touch the traffic button after them. If you must touch the traffic button, do not touch your face after. Even better? Use a glove (then avoid touching your face), sleeve, or elbow.

Can coronavirus be spread through sweat?

According to the NICD, transmission of the coronavirus happens between people who are in close contact with one another (about two metres) and through respiratory droplets, produced through a cough or sneeze—not sweat.

Am I contagious if I have no symptoms?

This is one thing we don’t fully understand yet about coronavirus. You are probably contagious right before you begin to show symptoms, but we don’t know for what time period and we don’t know how contagious. It makes sense that you would be more contagious once you are coughing, but we don’t fully understand transmission yet, Labus says.

Social distancing is the answer right now, Nieman says. Experts are still trying to figure out how long the virus lives on objects, and the problem is that it appears to be highly contagious, spread easily by coughing and sneezing, and can be spread by people who don’t think they’re sick. That’s why hand-washing and not touching your face are so important.

RELATED: What Runners Need to Know About Coronavirus

Is my immune system weaker after a hard workout?

As you deplete your stores of glycogen, your immune system does not function as well as it normally does. That means in the hours following tough workout, if you have been exposed to someone who has been sick with the flu or coronavirus, your bodies defenses are down, Neiman says. Additionally, mental or physical stress – caused by running a marathon or a very hard workout – could slightly increase your chances of becoming ill, Labus explains.

“I would caution runners to avoid long, intense runs right now until we get through all this and just to kind of keep things under control,” Nieman says. “Don’t overdo it. Be worried more about health than fitness.”

However, that doesn’t mean you need to quit running or exercising altogether. There is a very strong connection between regular exercise and a strong immune system in the first place, so the long-term immune system benefits of running far outweigh any short-term concerns, Labus says.

RELATED: How to Deal When Your Race Gets Postponed or Cancelled

How dangerous is spitting while running right now?

Spreading COVID-19 via spit is possible, according to Amy Treakle, M.D., an infectious disease specialist with The Polyclinic in Seattle. “COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, and transmission may occur when these droplets enter the mouths, noses, or eyes of people who are nearby. Spit contains saliva but could also contain sputum from the lungs or drainage from the posterior nasopharynx,” she says.

Sorry, snot rocketeers: Treakle says shooting mucus out of your nose isn’t any better. “Having witnessed and participated in races, I think it’s appropriate to note that this would apply to projectile nasal secretions.”

How long can COVID-19 live on clothing?

Experts don’t yet know the risk of transmitting the virus from surfaces like clothing, Treakle says. But the World Health Organization reports that coronaviruses can remain on surfaces for a few hours up to several days. If your clothing gets hit by spit, avoid touching the area, and change your clothing as soon as possible, washing your hands afterward. To disinfect clothing, wash it in hot water and use the dryer’s high setting.

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com

 

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