Stretching or Warming Up? What to Do Before and After Running.

“Do I need to stretch before running?”

It is one of the most common questions among runners.

For a long time, stretching was considered a mandatory step before exercise. Today, however, we know that warming up and stretching are different things and that there is no single routine all runners need to follow.

Scientific evidence favors a simpler approach: prepare your body for the effort ahead and use stretching according to individual needs.

Before an easy run, many people do not need a lengthy preparation routine.

Starting the first few minutes at a comfortable pace and gradually increasing intensity already provides a simple form of warm-up.

For more intense sessions, such as intervals, tempo runs, or races, warming up becomes more important. A systematic review with meta-analysis found improved performance in a large proportion of the outcomes assessed after appropriate warm-up protocols.

In practice, a warm-up might include:

• 5 to 15 minutes of easy running;
• simple dynamic movements;
• a few exercises specific to the session;
• short accelerations before speed sessions or races.

You do not need to turn your warm-up into another workout.

There is an important distinction here.

Static stretching, in which a position is held for a certain period, can temporarily increase range of motion. However, prolonged static stretches immediately before activities requiring strength and power can reduce some measures of performance.

This does not mean stretching before running is always wrong.

A systematic review published in 2025 specifically assessed the effects of stretching on running economy and found no significant change after different types of stretching. However, the certainty of the evidence was considered low, and the studies had important limitations.

A reasonable recommendation, therefore, is to avoid making long static-stretching sessions a mandatory step immediately before fast workouts.

If a runner enjoys stretching or needs to address a specific mobility limitation, stretching can be part of the routine, provided it suits the goal.

Dynamic stretching involves controlled movements, usually performed progressively.

It can be included in a warm-up because it moves the joints and prepares the muscles for the movement pattern that will be used.

But there is no need to create a complicated sequence either.

For a recreational runner, a few simple movements followed by easy running may be enough.

After running, stretching can feel pleasant and can help you work on flexibility, but there is no obligation to stretch for a run to count as complete.

There is also no consistent evidence that stretching after exercise can prevent injuries in general. Systematic reviews have found insufficient or inconclusive results to recommend routine stretching for that purpose.

So, if you enjoy stretching after a run, you can keep doing it.

If you do not, there is no need to feel obliged to spend 15 or 20 minutes stretching after every session.

You do not need a complex protocol.

Start slowly and let your body gradually increase intensity.

For example:

• Run the first 5 to 10 minutes at a comfortable pace;
• then follow your planned session.

Here, it is worth spending more attention on the warm-up.

For example:

• 10 minutes of easy running;
• dynamic movements;
• a few progressive accelerations;
• start the main workout.

The goal is to reach the first interval ready to run fast, without turning the warm-up into a tiring session.

As with an easy run, an elaborate warm-up is usually unnecessary.

Starting at a comfortable pace is often enough.

The higher the intensity from the opening minutes, the more important it is to arrive prepared.

A progressive warm-up can include easy running, dynamic movements, and a few short accelerations.

The volume should be enough to prepare you, but not to cause fatigue.

The simplest answer is:

Before running: warm up.

Stretch if there is a reason to do so.

After running: stretching is optional.

For most runners, there is no need to choose between an enormous stretching routine and simply starting to run. What matters most is matching the preparation to the session ahead.

A runner heading out for an easy run probably needs much less preparation than someone doing 400-meter intervals or a 10 km race.

Warming up and stretching serve different purposes and do not need to compete for space in a runner’s routine.

A warm-up gradually prepares the body for effort and appears particularly useful when a workout requires intensity. Stretching can be used to work on mobility or simply because a runner enjoys it, but it should not be treated as mandatory for everyone.

Understanding the goal at that moment matters more than following a fixed sequence.

For an easy run, start slowly.

For an intense session, warm up progressively.

And if you want to stretch, do so because there is a reason to include it in your routine—not because running necessarily requires that ritual.