10. Overtraining/chronic fatigue

Description: Although not an injury per se, overtraining syndrome or chronic fatigue is quite common and in severe cases it can be extremely debilitating. Sufferers are usually unaware that they are suffering from chronic fatigue but indicators such as irritability, difficulty in maintaining bodyweight, frequent illnesses and infections, insomnia and impaired running performances all point towards the problem. Typical sufferers are heavy trainers who focus on high mileage and rarely miss a day's training.

Treatment: Rest. Continued training will prevent or slow recovery. If you overtrain, your body will be denied sufficient rest and recovery, so a period of inactivity followed by a carefully structured return to running is essential. Once training is resumed, it is essential to factor in rest and easy days – and using the services of a running coach will help ensure that the situation doesn't recur.

Training and racing: Don't train or race until you have fully recovered. In time, once you have recovered, training and eventually racing can be resumed – but until then, more training or racing will only delay recovery.