Legend of the Falls

After hearing that I tripped during this morning's run, Valerie commented that I seem to fall a lot.  She didn't buy my explanation that running is a full contact sport.  That said, I did get curious...how often do I trip without being able to stop myself from hitting the ground?  I certainly have had a lot of close calls (that I don't record) and also have been known to roll my ankle from time to time.  But how frequently do I actually hit the ground?  How often does it lead to bleeding?  Have I ever missed running because of gravity induced injuries?

I vividly recall my first crash landing. I had just recovered from my first full marathon, resuming lunch break training runs with an ultra running coworker (what we used to call "Dog Runs" because we both worked for Naughty Dog).  He was quite a bit faster than me and I was trying to chase him down as we started the final relatively flat stretch back to the office.  I caught my toe on something protruding from the sidewalk and didn't just fall on the concrete, but off the curb and on to Santa Monica Blvd.  It was quite a blow, but apparently I just picked up a few minor scrapes and was able to finish the run.

That was back in 2009.

I didn't always write about my falls in my running blog, make note of it withing my running data, or even mention such incidents in the captions of my running photos.  In September of 2013, I vividly remember falling while crossing a cobblestone intersection near the end of one of my longer runs in Paris, but there's no mention of it in my photos from that trip (pun intended).  And at some point I fell and nearly ruined my favorite running shirt (a technical shirt I picked up at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca)...but I cannot find any photo evidence of when that happened.

Here's what I could retrieve by reviewing Strava activities and looking through my photos:

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

I was not entirely surprised the sometimes uneven dirt trail between the Hollywood Riviera and Palos Verdes tripped me up.  I was not injured as it was a soft landing, but I needed to rinse off my shirt and water bottle in one of the beach restrooms.  What's interesting is that I don't often do long runs on Tuesdays and this fall happened only 3 miles into a 14 miler.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Another dirt landing, this time on the hard packed median trail of Palos Verdes Drive North only 2 miles into my usual 6 miler.  I don't recall any injury from this fall either.  

Friday, March 29, 2019

Got "punched by a tree".  This time I got knocked me down by a branch from a bush or tree that was protruding into the sidewalk towards the end of my short four miler.  Scraped my knee and the branch scratched my shoulder.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Toe caught a bit of raised sidewalk next to Peninsula Center and I fell hard...scraping the ends of four fingers and the palm of my left hand.  My Nathan water bottle took the brunt of the damage.  During the fall, I landed on my chin, I dirtied another running shirt AND my brand new running shoes, my glasses went flying and got scratched upon landing (I started using a strap to keep my glasses on shortly thereafter).  I was only a mile into an 8 miler and not happy about having 7 miles to go.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

I successfully sprinted down the rocky Burma Road trail only to trip on what appeared to be a smoothly paved section of sidewalk during my cooldown jog home (toe must have caught the smallest crack).  Got road rash on palm, elbow, and hip, but somehow didn't scrape my knee.  Happened roughly seven and a half miles in a 9+ miler just when I let my guard down.  And here I thought the side-effects of my first Moderna vaccination were going to be the worst thing I'd experience that morning (I did get hit pretty hard after I got home, but only for a couple of hours)

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Two miles into a 10 miler, the tip of my shoe snagged a root hidden in a patch of softer dirt on the boundary trail between the Hollywood Riviera and Palos Verdes...and I thankfully landed in the softer dirt.  Though I was not injured, I did soil another white running shirt and cap.  My water bottle was so dirty I didn't want to risk drinking from it even after I rinsed it at the beach.  Dirt made it into the package of Shot BLOKS (that I had only just opened minutes before I fell) inside of my pocket.

Saturday, December 17, 2022

What started as a 21 miler ended as a half marathon.  I somehow tripped in the middle of a intersection along Palos Verdes Drive South not far east of Terranea Resort...and I fell so hard on to the pavement that the top of my water bottle completely sheared off, spilling most of its contents on to the pavement before I could use it to rinse my wounds.  The fall tore one of my running gloves, scraped the skin on my palm underneath.  I was bleeding from my hand, my elbow, and my knee.  I continued running until I reached the restroom at Pelican Cove, where I could finally rinse my wounds while waiting for a ride from Valerie.  I couldn't really continue since I no longer had the means to hydrate.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

This fall seemed to happen in slow motion: my toe caught a root under the wood chips on Veterans Parkway roughly five miles into a 14 miler.  I seriously thought I was going to be able to stay on my feet...I took as many as four strong strides fighting to stay vertical, but gravity ultimately won.  I thought I avoided any injury as I rolled when I landed, deflecting the energy of the impact, but I picked up a few scrapes.  Surprisingly none of my wounds bled.  My left arm was sore around the elbow (point of impact) as was my chest (where I landed on my arm). My right foot apparently took most of the stress simply from my effort to stay upright ...the whole top of my foot was now tender to the touch. That said, I could stand and run on it without feeling much pain, so I was able to finish my run. My shoes, socks, shirt, and water bottle had collected some of the wood chips in the fall. I'm so glad I fell on the trail and not the pavement.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

As I ran out on to the mobi-mat on the beach to take a photo of the #SirensOfSilence lifeguard tower, my toe caught one of the grooves and I couldn't stop myself from falling. While the mat itself is soft under foot, the texture of the mat's surface is very rough (to prevent slipping) and of course I slid on it. The cuts on my knuckle and knee and the rash on my thigh weren't the worst injury... I landed hard on my chest and probably bruised a rib.  My chest bothered me for awhile, but I did not miss a single day of my usual running routine.

Sunday, December 22, 2024

My left toe caught uneven pavement at the end of someone's driveway on Palos Verdes Drive North, roughly 12 miles into a 14 miler.  This is the kind of thing I would have guessed happens more often than not...as it happened late in what was relatively a long run, when I might get sloppy and not lift my feet as much.  The surprising thing? This was the first time people actually came up to me to ask if I was ok...two people on bike, a hiker, someone driving a truck.  They must have all seen it happen.  The driver offered a ride.  The hiker was a former marathoner who had been in my shoes on many long runs.

I thought I fell as much as once per year, but looking at this I can definitely see the frequency of falls has increased in recent years.  I also assumed my falls happened towards the end of longer runs, but, if that were the case, I would expect to see more Sundays in this list...and some of my falls happened early into runs too.  I thought there might be a correlation between falling and new shoes, but I am not seeing that in my data either.  And trail running doesn't seem to increase the risk.