Running: A Popular Sport with Hidden Risks
From marathons and parkruns to casual jogging, running is a widely embraced sport across the nation.
While the health benefits of running are well documented, for some individuals the pursuit of personal records, medals, or charitable fundraising can develop into an unhealthy, compulsive behavior.
Liam McHugh began running marathons to support cystic fibrosis (CF) charities, but 34 years later faces the possibility of being confined to a wheelchair due to the physical toll of his running. Similarly, Timothy Shiels’ competitive drive in running contributed to a severe mental health crisis.
The NHS highlights that regular physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, premature death, and depression.
Although running is generally linked to improved physical health and mental wellbeing, excessive engagement in the sport has led to both mental and physical harm in some cases.
My feet feel like they're being 'impaled'
McHugh’s journey into running began when his daughter was diagnosed with CF. Running became a means to raise funds for charity and a personal escape.
Over 34 years, he has completed more than 50 marathons and raised approximately £450,000 for CF causes.
However, the extensive running has severely impacted his body. Despite warnings that he may eventually require a wheelchair, McHugh remains committed to running until a cure for CF is found.
"Even if everybody was cured tomorrow, I probably still couldn't stop running. I'm addicted, 100%."
After decades of running, McHugh developed Haglund's deformity, a condition characterized by bony enlargements around the heel, which he describes as feeling like his feet are "impaled by hot pokers."
To manage the pain, he undergoes regular electroshock therapy, which he compares to "having your feet beaten with a sledgehammer."
His discomfort is often visible during training; drivers have stopped to offer him lifts due to his evident pain.
Despite these challenges, McHugh does not view his experience as a warning against running.
"Before every marathon, my wife pleads with me to make it my last," he said. "I say, 'Aye, sure we'll see'. Then a few days later, I want to go again."
'Running led me to a dark place'
Timothy Shiels attributes his troubled relationship with running as a factor in one of the darkest periods of his life.
Shiels, now a pastor in Omagh, began running in his youth under the influence of his father, who was a running coach. He associated success in running with love and approval, as winning medals brought pride to his family.
After stepping away from athletics during his late teens and twenties—a period marked by drug use, poor decisions, and homelessness—he returned to running at age 30.
Nearly a decade after achieving sobriety and resuming running, Shiels sought to rekindle his competitive career.
He expressed to his wife his ambition to represent Ireland on the track, but this reignited a mindset focused on success and attention.
The pressure he placed on himself to earn accolades became all-consuming, and he perceived that his social circle valued him primarily for his running achievements.
Following his failure to medal at the 2016 World Masters Athletics Championships in Australia, representing Ireland, Shiels felt he had disappointed everyone around him.
"I thought I'd let down my wife, my children, my parents, the people from my church - everybody. It led me to a very dark place."
In the decade since, Shiels has worked to rebuild a healthier relationship with running.
"I had to make myself go from thinking losing a race made me a loser in life, to knowing that it really makes no difference whether to win or lose," he said.
"I used to wonder who I would be if I stopped running. People know me locally as the Faster Pastor. But you can't be the Faster Pastor if you don't run, can you?"
Running fixation can lead to problems
Dr Victor Thompson, a clinical psychologist from Bangor with 17 years of experience and over a decade specializing in sports psychology, explained that unhealthy relationships with running are uncommon but genuine.
He noted that the psychological rewards of running or identifying one’s entire life with the sport can contribute to compulsive behavior.
"People can feel euphoric when they run," said Thompson. "Endorphins - happy hormones - are released, and you get the runner's high. Afterwards you might feel elated, happy or just calm."
However, he cautioned that excessive focus on running can be harmful.
"If a person gets obsessive about their running routine, fixated on improving times and adhering to a specific training schedule, that inflexibility can cause issues for themselves and others," said Thompson.
He also highlighted the stigma surrounding mental health support and the uncertainty many feel about where to seek help.
"Like most of our problems, it is easier to dismiss, ignore and hope that they will go away on their own.
Those who reach out are brave and have a greater chance of getting exercise back in balance, building greater psychological flexibility and becoming healthier."
If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this story, help and support are available through BBC Action Line.
