I hope someone will be able to tell me what this is. I took up running a few months ago and have found that over the past few weeks I develop a sharp pain within minutes of setting off. The pain is always on the right hand side of my abdomen, and feels like it is almost just under my rib cage. It is really frustrating as it is preventing me from running til I am actually tired, I sometimes have to stop because it is so painful. When I try and run through the pain, it sometimes spreads to an aching pain over my right shoulder.

I find it hard to run after eating and think this makes it worse, so I usually run first thing in the morning on an empty stomach... is this the right thing to do?

Does anyone have any advice how to prevent this? I'm running a 5k race on sunday and I'm quite worried about it happening again.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there! This happened to me when I first started running ALL the time. Turned out I was just pushing myself too hard. My legs weren't tired at all and wanted to keep going, but my breathing was heavy and that was causing the pain. Make sure you are breathing well... I accidentally inhale too much or hold my breath during some exercises when you shouldn't. You may need to slow it down a little bit when you feel this coming or take a break and walk until it goes away and breathe. Eventually I would get my breathing down right and it stopped. Hopefully the same will happen with you! Good luck with your 5k! I am hoping to be in one this year too! I just have to raise money in order to participate in mine and am worried I won't make the amount.

Thanks for the advice! I wondered if it was that, but it didn't explain why it started straight away when I began running. However, it might be that I'm pushing too hard in the sense that I'm not taking enough rest days.

My 5k is for charity too, its amazing how much you can raise just from passing your sponsor form around work colleagues or sending an email out to family and friends. Go for it!