AORTA News: September 7th, 2026
Celebrating National Tailgating Day in Auburn… with a great turnout for today’s group run before kickoff! Thanks to all who joined us this morning!
Upcoming Local Races
Auburn University ODK Cake 5K
When: Thursday, September 24, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM
Where: Cater Lawn, AU Campus
Distance: 5K
Fee: Free
Description: Omicron Delta Kappa will be hosting Auburn University's Annual Cake Race to kickoff Homecoming Week. The 5k is open to the Auburn community, and the top three male and female finishers of the race will win a cake! This longstanding Auburn tradition will begin and end in front of Katherine Cooper Cater Hall, and the route will take participants around Auburn's campus.
Mercy Medical 5K/10K
When: Saturday, Ocbober 03, 2026
Time: 8:00 AM (1-Mile) 8:30 (5K/10K)
Where: Ogletree Shopping Center, Auburn
Distance: 1M, 5K, 10K
Fee: $20 (1M), $35 (5K), $45 (10K)
Description: Come join us for the 3rd annual Mercy Medical Run to raise money from this race, all of it, will be donated to Mercy Medical. For over 25 years, Mercy Medical has fulfilled this mission through the generous financial support of our community. The clinic is staffed primarily by volunteers who selflessly give their time to love and serve the underserved of our community.
Walk For Life + 5K
- When: Saturday, October 10, 2026
- Time: 8:00 AM (1-Mile), 8:30 AM (5K)
- Where: Opelika Sportsplex
- Fee: $30 (5K), $10 (1M), $0 for 12 & Under (1M)
- Description: Looking for an easy and fun way to make a difference for LIFE? Join Women's Hope Medical Clinic & Hope Adoptions as a runner or fundraising walker for our upcoming Walk For Life + 5K! By getting sponsors to support your walk, you can help reach our fundraising goal and play a significant role in cultivating a culture of life.
Tutu Trot 5K
- When: Saturday, October 17, 2026
- Time: 8:00 AM (Fun Run), 8:30 AM (5K)
- Where: Town Creek Park
- Fee: $30 (5K), $25 (Fun Run)
- Description: Join us for this fun, family-friendly event that benefits the Down South Cancer Foundation and celebrates breast cancer survivors while raising awareness and support for those affected by cancer in our community. Participants are encouraged to embrace the theme and run or walk in a tutu — a tutu is included with registration! Come run, walk, wear your tutu, and help support a great cause!
Beat Bama Food Drive 5K
- When: Sunday, November 01, 2026
- Time: 2:00 PM (1-Mile), 2:30 PM (5K)
- Where: Cater Lawn, Auburn University
- Fee: $38 (5K), $18 (1-Mile)
- Description: The Beat Bama Run Fest is a charity color run benefiting the Food Bank of East Alabama. It offers a 5K race and a one-mile fun run for participants of varying fitness levels, encouraging community involvement by collecting non-perishable food donations. Pre-registration is encouraged to save on fees, and the event includes water stops, refreshments, and children's entertainment, making it a well-rounded experience focused on fitness, community engagement, and philanthropy for participants of all ages.
Unity Wellness Center AIDS Day Run/Walk
- When: Saturday, November 14, 2026
- Time: 8:00 AM (1-Mile), 8:30 PM (5K)
- Where: Town Creek Park, Auburn, AL
- Fee: $5 (1-Mile), $5 (5K) (t-shirt $20)
- Description: Join us for the 9th Annual Unity Wellness Center World AIDS Day Run/Walk, featuring a $5 fee for both the 5K and 1-mile events (with an option to add a shirt for $20). Age group awards will be given, and there will be a raffle and refreshments for the whole family. The 1-mile walk starts at 8:00 am (untimed), and the 5K timed race begins at 8:30 am. This event commemorates World AIDS Day, a global day of unity against HIV, and supports Unity Wellness Center's vital services, including HIV testing, counseling, medical care, case management, and prevention education.
Weekly Whimsy
How Long Does It Take to Lose Running Fitness?
September 01, 2026, Running State
Injuries, busy weeks, and unplanned breaks are part of running, and they all raise the same worry: how fast am I losing my fitness?
If you have stopped running for a while, your fitness does not vanish overnight. You keep most of your running fitness for about two weeks. Noticeable aerobic decline starts after ten to fourteen days off, grows over the following weeks, and becomes significant after a month or more. Your strength and muscle fade more slowly.
In this article, we cover what happens to your body week by week, whether a break can ever help, and how to come back after time off.
What happens when you stop running?
When you stop running, your body unwinds its adaptations in a fairly predictable order, and it always loses aerobic fitness before strength.
After 1 week off
You lose almost nothing in the first week, and what does change is easy to mistake for lost fitness.
- Aerobic fitness (VO2 max): essentially unchanged
- Blood volume: dips slightly
- Strength and muscle: fully intact
- What you feel: legs a little flat on your first run back, though often fresher overall
After 2 weeks off
Around the two-week mark, the first real decline shows up, all of it on the aerobic side.
- Aerobic fitness (VO2 max): down a few percent
- Blood volume: dropping, so your heart pumps less blood per beat
- Lactate threshold: slipping, so hard efforts feel hard sooner
- Heart rate: higher at the same easy pace
- Strength and muscle: still fully intact
- What you feel: the same pace feels harder, and fast running fades quickly
After 1 month off
A month off adds up, mostly in your heart and lungs, while your muscles largely hold on.
- Aerobic fitness (VO2 max): down about 6 to 20 percent, depending on your training history
- Capillaries: the small vessels feeding your muscles start to thin, so less oxygen reaches them
- Muscle cells: the energy-producing parts begin to decline
- Recent gains: fade fastest, while a base built over years holds better
- Strength: still holds up well
- What you feel: clearly less sharp, with easy runs starting to feel like work
After 2 to 3 months off or more
Now a longer break reaches your muscles too, though you never fall all the way back.
- Aerobic fitness (VO2 max): drops a lot, then levels off, staying above an untrained level
- Capillary network: back near its pre-training level
- Muscles: lose some size and conditioning
- Strength: finally starts to slip, but slowly
- Muscle memory: stays with you, so you rebuild faster than the first time
- What you feel: noticeably out of shape, yet not a total beginner again
Does a break ever help your running?
Sometimes, yes. A short break is harmless, and it can even leave you running better. When you train hard for months, fatigue builds up over the weeks, and a few days or a week of rest lets your body finally absorb that work. Many runners come back from a planned week off feeling fresh and strong.
The renowned American coach Jack Daniels treated planned breaks as a normal part of training and called them vital to a runner's long-term health. In his view, stepping back after a hard season gives both body and mind time to regroup before the next block.
A break also gives nagging aches and small injuries a chance to heal, which keeps a minor niggle from turning into a long injury.
Daniels treated unplanned breaks the same way. A missed stretch is not worth beating yourself up over, and he suggested using them as a chance to cross-train, recover properly, and rebuild your hunger to run.
The benefit has limits, of course. A week or two off can refresh you, whereas a month or more starts to cost real fitness.
Do you have to start over after a break?
Almost never. Even after a long layoff, you do not start from scratch, thanks to something often called muscle memory. Thanks to muscle memory, lost fitness returns faster than it took to build the first time, and usually faster than it was lost.
In other words, the weeks you spent building your base are not wasted when you take time off. They leave a foundation your body remembers and rebuilds on, generally much quicker than you expect.
The longer and more consistently you trained before the break, the more of that foundation stays with you.
How to come back after time off
Your heart and lungs recover quickly, but your tendons and joints need time to catch up, so the most common mistake is doing too much too soon.
Here's how to return to running after a pause:
- Match your starting volume to the break. As a rough guide, begin at about 70 percent of your old weekly mileage after 10 days off, around half after two weeks to a month, and less than half after two months. Following a break of more than three months, start as if you are new again.
- Walk before you run, especially after injury. If an injury caused the break, ease in with brisk walks of 45 to 60 minutes first, which lets you test whether the pain is gone before you add running.
- Use run-walk. For the first week or two back, mix walking into your runs to ease your body into the impact.
- Build back by about 10 percent a week. Add no more than roughly 10 percent to your weekly distance at a time, and give yourself a few weeks to reach your old volume.
- Lean on cross-training and strength. Swimming and cycling rebuild your aerobic fitness with less pounding, and a couple of short strength sessions a week rebuild the support your running needs and lower your injury risk.
- Be patient with your paces. Your old paces will feel hard at first. Run by effort, keep it easy, and let speed return on its own.
Above all, resist the urge to prove you are still fit on day one. Ease in, and your fitness returns sooner and with far less risk of getting hurt.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose all my fitness if I take two weeks off?
No. Two weeks off costs only a small, fully reversible dip in aerobic fitness, and many runners return feeling fresher. Your strength and muscle stay intact over that span.
Do beginners lose fitness faster than experienced runners
Beginners usually lose recently gained fitness a bit faster, since it has not had time to settle in. On the other hand, they also regain it quickly. A long training history holds up best of all.
How do I get back into running after a long break?
Start below your old mileage, use run-walk early on, and build back by about 10 percent a week. Add some strength work, run by feel, and give your tendons and joints time to adapt.
Is it bad to take a week off from running?
Not at all. A single week off barely touches your fitness, and it often helps by clearing fatigue and healing small aches. Many runners come back stronger after a planned rest week.
Link to article: https://tinyurl.com/mr2py4k6
Quote of the Week
I’ll be happy if
running and I
can grow old
together.
Haruki Murakami
Video of the Week
An Ultra Running Documentary Film (03:33)
** AORTA provides this informational video to its members as a courtesy and does not endorse any particular product, process, or service.
Ongoing Events
RunGo For Turn-By-Turn Directions!
RunGo provides turn-by-turn navigation allowing you to just enjoy your runs without having to think about looking for street names and when you may have to turn next. Other great features include, audio cues with your running stats, split updates, the ability to share your runs via social media, and create new routes. Another great feature of the app is the ability to work offline. You can create and download your routes ahead of time, before your run so you don’t have to use data during your run.
Race Volunteers Needed!
As a runner, we know your time is valuable. But if you have a couple hours to spare, we could use your help for one of the upcoming AORTA supported or directed races! Assisting at a local race is a fun and rewarding experience. You are surrounded by health conscious individuals that, like you, are motivated fitness enthusiasts and appreciate the effort of volunteers.
Water Stop Volunteers Needed
Water stop signs and coolers are available at the following location: 1536 Professional Parkway, Auburn, AL. (Thank you Adahli Massey!). Coolers and signs can be picked up Monday-Thursday from 8AM-4PM and on Fridays from 8AM-12 noon. Items are in the room next to the back door. If you are unable to pick up supplies on these dates/times, e-mail clemster@aol.com to make alternative arrangements (we deliver!).
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