I've done it before, fairly extensively at one point due to some bad flaring ankle arthritis.

I'm pretty skeptical of its efficacy for the most important aspect of running, which is building the body to tolerate weight-bearing as well as the ability to push off hard with the leg stride, both of are which the most injurious part of running but unfortunately also the most important. Water running avoids both of these completely.

Where water running does do well is:
- Run-specific cardio work. If you want to pump up your run-specific cardio and VO2max, water running will do it. If you are not doing any land work, you will have some catch up period to get the musculoskeletal system working on par with the cardio once you're back on land.
- Train the hip flexors and arm swing to be strong and fast. Good neuromuscular and endurance training for both, better than land due to water resistance.

I did find that I was a terrible runner right out of the water - it was ALL about building up my land running to 'catch up' to my ability to push myself water running. I suspect the bigger/heavier you are, the harder this is, whereas for super lightweight female pro marathoners, they might actually have a pretty fast transition (as Deena Kastor did after a stress fx relegated her to water running.)

A combo of elliptical machines and water running seemed to keep me in striking distance of 'getting back fast' to running once I was able to run on land again. Still wasn't easy, esp the long stuff, but I wasn't so deconditioned that it was awful. There seems to be no avoiding the requirement to reacclimate to the run impact if you want to run fast.

Thank you for the detailed reply

Glad to hear you are doing better now

Fortunately no injuries. Just want to add in another 2 days of ‘running’ with little to no impact

Did you find you would sink under water if you were not pushing down with your hands?

If I mimic running my head goes under

There are several ways to water run.

My favorite is water just over my shoulders, barely under my chin when standing, and then I just do the running motion, hard. I barely move foward - the goal isn't to go forward, but to fire the running muscles. (Too much water resistance for forward motion training while upright.)

Some folks prefer deep water with a water flotation belt, but I have no access to such deep pools.

If your pool is too deep for you to stand like me, a flotation belt will likely do the trick.

Read the Pete Pfzinger article. Google it.

Done aquajogging a lot with athletes.

We use a floatation belt.
We use swimming stretch cords
We use Drag Sox
We do a lot of interval work
In my experience, it is a one to one trade off with running.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Tim

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Great thank you!

I’m using the aquajogger PRO

What do your people use?

I sink to the botttom unless I push down with my arms.

So it isn’t really running

Or do your athletes run on the bottom?

Put on a pair of cut off fins and hand paddles and you don't need a buoyancy vest or belt and you will get a better workout.

Did it quite extensively during various injuries periods in the past. I actually rather enjoyed it and still do it from time to time for an extra non impact workout. I think it is massively underappreciated as a workout option. You can definitely maintain great running fitness for a time. I personally transitioned back to land based running very easily although I fall into the lighter runner category that the previous poster alluded to. For a pure recovery session just going at a steady effort will work but to maintain and/or build fitness you are going to need to do intervals at a pretty hard intensity. Keep the recovery very short, much shorter than in running. One of my standards was 8-10 x :90 very hard/:30 recovery with warm up and cool down. Intensity is key. Google Pete Pfitzinger for more ideas. A waterproof iPod shuffle or Shokz waterproof headphones will help keep any boredom at bay if you are spending more than 30 mins in the pool. I used the flotation belt and just went up and down the deep end of a lane. It does feel a bit more like cycling but that's how it is supposed to be as you're just not pushing off like in running. You're going to move forward but very slowly. Make sure you don't end up hunching forward.

yes.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

If you are a runner only, then go for it.

If you are triathlete, water running is a total waste of time. Unless you are already swimming 30 km per week you can always swim more and improve your swimming if you can't run. There is no skill in water running that transfers to any real sport. I put it in the same category as elliptical training, in that you only do that type of stuff if you can't do a real sport, because when you do the real sport your skill is growing.

I couldn't disagree more with this. Tell that to Tim DeBoom who used it extensively in his Kona preparation. I know this for fact as we hit the pool at the same time back then. I use it weekly as well, even when not injured, to supplement my running. Movements are almost the same (minus the pounding toe-off) and you can vary the motion to mimic Nordic Skiing more as well, with a slight change (I come from a competitive xc ski background). The fitness gains yet wear and tear savings are more than worth the time to aqua jog as supplemental training. I typically AJ after swimming 1x a week, insert intervals, and is a super way to get in extra running in a time crunch. Those who don't do it likely have a bias against it without actually having done it for long periods. Oh, wait...if you are in my AG, then don't AJ...just --yeah...swim more.

They use a variety of the ones on this page...

If you are sinking to the bottom with one of the belts on then something isn't right.

All the athletes I work with are in deep water.

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http://www.magnoliamasters.com
http://www.snappingtortuga.com
http://www.swimeasyspeed.com