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Morning Running

Morning Running – The Best Time To Run In The Morning & More!

Many runners wonder how to be a morning runner, and there is a good reason why. Morning running has some great benefits, not only for your fitness but also for your skin and overall well-being.

However, some people find it hard to run in the morning, but there are some good reasons why you should try.

In this article, we discuss morning running and why you should try to run before you head to work or even before you start your day. So keep reading to find out more.

Morning Running Benefits – What You Should Know

Even though many people struggle to get up and head out for a run, there are many reasons why you should try morning running. Some of the benefits include:

– Improves Cardiovascular Fitness.
– Improves mood
– Lowers stress levels
– Improves sleep quality
– Provides you with more energy
– Keep’s your skin out of the sun
– Get’s you into a routine
– Lower temperatures

However, not everyone is a morning runner. So, if you are looking to start running in the morning, start by heading out the door before work a couple of times a week. That way, you can let the body adjust to waking up earlier and allow you to get into a routine of preparing your stuff the night before.

As a coach for more than 15 years, we have found that training first thing in the morning allows for better recovery and more time with the family. The workouts are typically better than during the evening, and running in the morning helps people unwind after a long day at work in the evening. It also helps with sleeping at night, as late-night running often prevents people from having a good night’s sleep.

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Other people that struggle with hot weather conditions in the evening are more likely to miss the heat in the morning. That means morning runs can often be performed in weather 5-10 degrees less than in the early evening.

Other things like Skincare is another benefit to running in the morning. Running before 9 am in the morning means you are less likely to run in a full-strength sun. This helps to prevent runner’s face or excess sunlight contact that can age your skin.

What Time Should I Run In The Morning?

What Time Should I Run In The Morning?

Since you already know the benefits, you may be wondering what time should you run in the morning.

Luckily there is nothing to stress about, and no real studies to say that 7 am is better than 9 am. However, the best time to run in the morning comes down to your schedule.

Generally, the best time to run is before breakfast and 30 minutes after you wake up, or around 60 mins after having breakfast. This way it allows you to fully wake, or enough time for your breakfast to digest.

Alternatively, if you have the day off from work or family commitments running between 7 am and 9 am can help you bet the heat of the day. However, during winter we highly recommend starting later in the morning once the temperature has risen a bit.

If you are new to morning running, try to give yourself at least 1 hour after waking up before you head out the door. Often people that aren’t used to running this early struggle to warm up their body and feel sluggish during the first few kilometers.

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So, the best time to run in the morning is a time when you feel awake and when food has digested properly. That way you are full of energy and stress levels are low. This generally produces a more quality session than the evening.

Morning Running Benefits For Skin

Morning Running Benefits For Skin

While morning running has been shown to help you be more productive during the day, it also has many other benefits, which includes your skin.

Midday running, or even early evening running can place your skin under harsh sunlight, especially in summer. Running in strong sun rays has been proven to age skin and make you look much older than you are. This often results in runner’s face, commonly mistaken for aging skin, which is caused by direct sunlight.

So, if you have sensitive skin, or struggle running in direct sunlight, try running in the morning instead of the evening. That way the sun will be less harsh on your skin.

However, if you don’t have much choice, make sure you use sunscreen if it is later in the morning, or after lunch. Then make sure you apply regular moisturiser to your skin. Doing so will help prevent the aging effects of running in the harsh sun.


Benefits Of Running In The Morning On An Empty Stomach

While there are some benefits of running in the morning on an empty stomach, there are also some drawbacks. So, if you are planning on trying to run in a fasted state, we recommend you to test it before you commit to it regularly.

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Many studies say fasted running is beneficial but also a lot say that it affects running performance. So, if you want to run early in the morning on an empty stomach, make sure you lower the intensity of your workout. That way the quality of your session won’t be affected.

Alternatively, if your running is not performance-orientated, then running on an empty stomach will help you get out the door much quicker. This is extremely important for people that are in a rush or start work early.

However, generally, we don’t recommend this for most people unless they are running easy or keeping the distance to a minimum (under 10km). That way running on an empty stomach won’t affect your training too much and cause you to bonk halfway through your run.

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