BREATHE RIGHT AS A RUNNER

Runners should breathe from the diaphragm (or stomach) and not the upper chest. One way I found to do this was to put one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach. See if you can tell where more of the movement is originating from. The stomach should be driving the breath, not the chest. The chest is too shallow, and not enough oxygen is circulated.

Runners need to be aware of the pattern of their own breathing. Here, I refer to the book Running on Air by Budd Coates and Claire Kowalchik of Runner’s World magazine. The book describes how to use rhythmic breathing to maximize oxygen intake, which also minimizes side stitches. Research suggests that the source of the side stitch is constant inhalation on the same side. Because the diaphragm is a muscle, it becomes stressed or fatigued by the impact of the foot strike when a runner is breathing in. By alternating the side or leg of the inhale, the impact on one side is cut in half, thus reducing, or eliminating, side stitches.

I have run over 70,000 miles in my running career and never had a side stitch. I have come to realize that I just naturally fell into this rhythmic breathing pattern. So, breathe in on the left foot, step with the right, step with the left, next, breathe in on the right foot, step with the left, step with the right, and finally, breathe in on the left foot.