How to Push Past Knee Pain

The worries started a few weeks ago, I felt the dreaded pain as I was coming down the stairs. Maybe it will go away tomorrow, maybe it’s nothing. But it stuck around. I’ve been running a lot of kilometres lately and my knees have become sore for the first time. Sore knees make runners anxious. I had my knee checked out and found that I had a tendon strain. Even though I knew my strain wasn’t serious – I found myself perseverating on whether I’ll do permanent damage to my knees if I continue to run long distances. Luckily, I came across a shining example of a runner with great longevity. 

Ray Zahab is a well known Canadian adventurer and ultra-runner. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Ray and getting to know him better over the last year. Among a long list of impressive accomplishments, Ray ran 7,500km across the Sahara desert in 2006. Ray and two friends – ran an average of 70km per day for 111 days. This epic adventure was the subject of the movie, Running the Sahara which was produced and narrated by Matt Damon. A couple of weeks ago, I had a breakthrough for dealing with my knee pain worries while rewatching Running the Sahara with my kids. Although I run a lot, my distances pale in comparison to Ray’s incredible 111 days of running. Ray didn’t stop at running the Sahara. In January, 2020 and at 51 years old, Ray crossed Baffin Island on foot while dragging all of his supplies. It’s very reassuring that Ray’s knees can support an amazing feat like crossing Baffin Island, 14 years after he ran the Sahara. Ray’s example shows that you can run long and run often without destroying your knees. Sure, Ray is a special athlete but he isn’t alone in his longevity. There are a number of ultra-runners who continue to do amazing things in their late forties and early fifties including Karl Meltzer (52 years old), Mike Wardian (46 years old) and Jeff Browning (48 years old). 

It’s a great idea to come back to examples like Ray’s when you start feeling anxious about running injuries. Reflecting on Ray’s amazing experiences helped me put my own running into perspective. Although I run more than the average person, I haven’t run anywhere close to the 7,500km across the Sahara. My knee pain still bugs me but it doesn’t have me questioning the distances that I run anymore. I’m looking forward to pushing past this strain and continuing my amazing experience with ultra-running.