When Should You Quit Running? An Honest, Difficult Conversation with Author Dimity McDowell

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Mar 19, 2026

Dimity McDowell, author and co-founder of Another Mother Runner, shares her journey of stepping away from running after chronic injury. She discusses the emotional loss of identity and community. She explores alternatives like swimming, biking, and strength work. She offers ways to find closure, plan transitions, and rebuild purpose beyond the sport.

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ANECDOTE

Chronic Injury Led To A Three Year Fade From Running

Dimity described chronic injury cycles that ultimately forced her to stop running after repeated stress fractures, hip and knee problems, and constant rehab attempts.
She recounted an orthopedist telling her in 2017 to consider not running, which she first processed via a blog post and then a gradual three-year fade out to 2020.

ADVICE

Allow A Year Or More For The Transition Out Of Running

Expect a long transition: plan for a year or more of acceptance and experimentation rather than an abrupt stop.
Dimity faded from regular running over three years, using swim-bike events and short run-walk outings to ease the change.

ANECDOTE

Runner Turned Nun Had To Choose Her Calling Over Running

Dimity interviewed many recreational runners and shared vivid stories, including a woman who took up running at 50 and later became a nun at 60.
That nun found elite-level fitness yet had to stop because her order forbade running in practical attire.

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What if you have to make the hard decision to stop running altogether? That's the heartbreaking choice Dimity McDowell, a long-time runner and sports journalist, had to make a few years ago.

In this conversation and in her new book, The 27th Mile, we explore what it means to hang up your running shoes for good:

The loss of identity, community, and purpose
How to fill the hole that running once filled
What the experts recommend
How to find closure after a running career ends

Follow Dimity on Instagram and be sure to check out her new book!

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