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No. 342703
>>342701
To a small extent, it depends on the distance.
If you're doing anything less than about 5 miles, you can get away with not stretching at all. Your running might be a bit off, but you should loosen up in about a mile. For longer distances, stretching becomes a better idea, but is not a complete imperative if you're just running recreationally.
For short to medium distances, running is your best warm-up for running. Do a mile or so at a slow pace (maybe 13-14 mins/mile), then pick it up toward your normal running pace.
For stretching, there's some people who say you don't really need to stretch at all. Whatever you decide to do, you should try to be consistent. If you're training for a race, keep your same routine through training and race day. Some good info on stretches here: http://www.time-to-run.co.za/capetown/stretching/debate.htm
But the basics of it are that you want to stretch gently, no matter what you do. If you're doing static stretches (the ones everyone does, where you hold a pose), don't force it, and whatever you do don't do that thing where you bounce in and out of the limit of your range of motion. That's a surefire way to injure yourself.
There's also dynamic stretches, which are basically stretching your muscles in a way that mimics real, albeit exaggerated, movement. There's some good video guides to it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dynamic+stretching
But like I said, unless you're being super competitive and want to be competitive in races (or outright win) you can generally get away with not stretching, especially when starting out or for low mileage. Just listen to your body, take it easy if you detect some pain, and go easy when you start your run. Or you might decide that not stretching causes pain you can otherwise avoid.
It's all about finding what makes you most comfortable. It's easy to go overboard with stretches and warmups by following all the recommended routines; you can easily end up spending a half hour just stretching before you even get to running. In my opinion, one of the strengths of running as exercise is that you can just throw some shoes and shorts on, step out the door, and be on your way. You don't need expensive equipment (at least not when you're starting out), you don't need protective gear, you don't need spotters or other people with you, you just need your own body. Spending too much time stretching and running in general loses interest for me. I prefer to just skip stretching and get right to it.
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