I've heard plenty of experts advise that running shouldn't hurt, and I'm sure they are right. As a general rule, if something hurts, you should stop.

Still, I don't think I've met a runner yet who hasn't had to deal with pain at one point or another, and runners will usually keep going if at all possible. Running gets addictive, and runners come to count on all the good feelings it brings.

I've been dealing with some persistent aches and pains for quite a while now. Sometimes I feel great, other times not so much. After months of physical therapy, a round of X-rays and an MRI, I have a diagnosis: a herniated (bulging) disc at the base of my spine, and a congenital condition in which my thigh bone bonks up against the edge of my hip bone, causing it to form an extra little knob on the edge of the joint.

I had felt pretty good after the Pisgah Mt. race last Sunday. It's funny how hearing all this made me feel a whole lot worse!

What I don't yet know is what to do about either of these things. I can still run, sometimes. The doc said it's unlikely to make matters worse. I can't run as often or as much as I'd like, though. Sometimes running stops the pain. Other times, the pain stops a run.