I began running seriously at age 40. My first "running injury" was a bad case of runner's knee. I was getting ready to run a half-marathon in the spring and I just began training in the winter. That in itself was a mistake.
I had run no more than 3 or 4 miles at a time up until that late December day when I decided to have my wife drive me 10 miles from my house and drop me off. I know now how foolish that was. She dropped me off in the country and drove back home.
I was fine until about mile 4 when I felt some pain my right knee. It was not too bad; just a twinge at that time. But in just a half mile more, I knew I was in trouble. I continued on as the knee pain became more and more intense. But after mile 5, I had to stop and walk. Of course, as is common with runner's knee, the pain stopped as I walked. After walking 100 yards are so, I took off running again. The pain returned in my knee more intense than every after running just a few steps.
It was cold and I really wanted to get home. So instead of walking, I fought the pain. That was my next mistake. My knee was screaming for me to stop running, but I kept on. By mile six my knee was in bad shape. I was cold and hurting.
For the next three miles I walked and jogged at about a 5 to 1 ratio. By the last mile the knee hurt so bad I had to walk all the time. The pain was so bad I could hardly pick my leg up to take a step. Worse still, my other knee was now hurting too!
I made it home finally and learned a lesson. From then on I would listen to my body and not ever bump up my training miles that far that fast.
After that event I studied the causes of running knee pain. It results from the hamstrings becoming stronger than the quads. This imbalance causes the quads to fatigue to the point that they become tight and somewhat cramp. This causes a pulling of the tendon where it attaches over the knee joint. This pulling causes irritation and thus the knee pain.
Runner's knee is not long lasting fortunately. With some rest, I was good as new in a few days and much wiser. Almost all runners will suffer with this problem at some point in their early running careers. The best advice to follow is to ramp up ones mileage by no more than 10% per week. I usually suggest a lower rate in the beginning.
Also, I found a knee band online that worked really well. It was elastic with Velcro and worked great for controlling the pain. I'm not sure how or why it worked, but when I wrapped it around my knee tightly just under the knee cap, it really helped slow the onset of the pain during running; I could run farther and farther without the knee problems occurring.
Also, runners should be aware that when there is even a slight pain anywhere in the body, other areas are more vulnerable to injury. It's not uncommon for running knee pains to result in other injuries such as in the hips or ITP band.
Runners have to remember that if they push too hard and suffer something like knee pain, they will have to layoff and lose training time. Results are better if training mileage is increased at a manageable amount. Most importantly, a new runner has to listen to his or her body and obey what it is telling them.
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