I’m training for 3 peaks cyclocross, and with just a couple weeks to go I find my self with intermittent extremely sharp pains inside my knee when I’m trying to run, slowing my run to a hobbling limp, typically up hills with my 25lb bike on back [so it’s hardly suprissing] the pain is so much if feels like my knee wants to collapse under me – I have self-diagnosed ‘runners knee’. When back on the bike – it doesn’t seem to come back – though have been taking it easy. so its impact related it seems. Does anyone Have experience of this? I’m wondering if I should keep cycling to keep fitness up and hope the knee recovers in time for the big one.

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classic advice for knee injuries is rest, ice and relax. It may be that your training volumes have increased and thus caused this niggle.

To ask, you say inside your knee, is it back of knee in the bend or feel like its right under your knee cap? is it to the left or the right of the knee on which leg?

Tough one.

Been there, done that.

Rest is the only way, then lots of ice and that funny blue tape on the day of the ride. After all it’s just one epic day on the bike so prepare well and there will be lots of pain the following days to take your mind off the knee pain ..

As above, complete rest is the only way I’ve found to work in knee downwards injuries.

I’d have a few days or a week off completely, bike or running. This close to the event you’re really really not going to lose any meaningful fitness but you may save yourself getting a much bigger injury/actually manage to complete the event

Runners knee is a pretty broad diagnosis but I’d suggest from experience in our running group that it’s either coming up to your knee or more likely down to your knee. Go get a sports massage and see how tight your glutes and lower back are as generally it is a symptom of misalignment in the knee coming from an imbalance further up. Was a revelation to me after assuming I’d damaged my knee only to find it was a lower back issue.

If it’s any consolation, any time I’ve had to rest up for an injury before an event, I’ve usually felt a good bit fitter on the day of the event, probably just from the rest! Sure you’re not going to get any fitter in the interim but you might be surprised how good you feel on the day, just don’t spend the rest period on the booze! 😉

Sssimon x1million. Sounds like tight itb or other lack of flexibility in your leg muscles/lower back from being a cyclist first and a runner second. Stretching, rolling, icing if it helps but don’t rest, be sensible but don’t stop doing things. If it doesn’t hurt whilst standing, sitting, cycling i’d venture there’s not something in your knee I that’s broken it’s pain felt by nerves there caused by something somewhere else.

Can I take a guess at training having changed to include ‘running’ up hills with a bike on your shoulder? Go and see someone run/bike recommended if you want proper advice, they might just loosen you up and get you in better shape for 30 quid. Good luck for it and enjoy the day!

I get the same except it’s on the outside of my knee. Thankfully, I’ve got enough experience with it to manage it reasonably well. The Peaks itself is 4hrs of absolute hell and you’ll put up with pretty much anything to get through it.

Most people suffer when their training changes dramatically from “just riding a bike” to “riding brutal trails on a CX bike and carrying it up stupid steep hills”!

Take it easy though. You won’t lose much at this stage by resting but you might lose a lot if you push on and seriously injure yourself.

Unless you’re aiming to finish in the top 10, I wouldn’t worry too much about having difficulty running while shouldering the bike. Practically no-one runs. Walking, yes, plenty of that. Whernside is like an endless flight of stairs.

Think of it more as three hill-walks while carrying a bike, interspersed with some bike riding.

I would say that complete rest is the last thing you should be doing, as it will decondition your muscles and dramatically increase the likelihood of an injury on race day.

I would however recommend stopping the thing that is causing the pain ie running (especially up a hill with 25lbs of added resistance!!) but carry on the cycling if pain free, and get your CVS workout that way. Running is actually quite high impact so def not advisable if causing discomfort!!

In the longer term if you are determined to carry on running with weights on your back (and I’m not super sure why you would but it’s your body so your choice) then I’d recommend seeing a physio to try and facilitate this with a strengthening regime so you can train pain-free

I’m not quite sure what your symptoms are, but having suffered from various leg issues over the years, suggestions:

Rest (ease off)
Ice
Couch stretch Couch Stretch Youtube video
Hamstring stretch
Use a foam roller on the quads, hams, ITB and calves (find tight spot, then flex leg whilst resting on the tight spot)
Skipping rope for dynamic leg conditioning (especially calf muscles. Don’t bother with calf raises)
Practice balancing on one leg (and ball of foot)

Hamstring, lower back and quad strengthening can be beneficial too, especially for the (downhill, for a cyclist, ouch) running.

OP, how you looking for the weekend? Hope you’re pain free and have a great race.

thanks to everyone for the great advice! I couldn’t afford to rest last chance to get just a little extra fitness in.

So I decided not to rest, as it was a weird intermittent yet very sharp pain inside th knee, rather than all the time, I took it as a warning sign and did loads of hip and pilates style workout every day for a week to address this miss alignment and strengthen everything around the knee. I continued with the cycling workouts and the knee did not seem affected by the cycling at all.

So the week later after I did a stupidly massive carry, the pain is not so much with the running -[ indeed actually just a determined walk/stagger but even just with the walk there are points which you have to step up large steps and drop down over rocks or into a gully, uneven surfaces where the knee twists just a little, these are the places where the pain comes and I would collapse. But I took it quite steady but no pain just a niggling at some points.

I felt it was important to keep exercising in this case to increase the strength of the knee and the stuff around it. Ill keep doing those exercises too.
– rested this week though, ready to give it everything for the 3 peaks!