Help injury proof your body with the following five strategies:
Build base mileage slowly
Whether you are new to the sport of running or a seasoned pro returning from an injury, building up your base mileage slowly is one of the most effective ways to prevent injury from 
occurring. The vast amount of overuse injuries such as tendinitis are caused by people trying to cover too much ground before their body has adapted adequately. Running places additional strain on areas of your body that you wouldn’t exercise to the same extent normally. If care is not taken, small tendons and muscles can become overworked, forcing other muscles and tendons to try to compensate for their weakness. This changes your running form and places extra stress on areas of the body that cannot cope and ultimately can lead to injury if care is not taken.
You will hear the 10% rule being thrown around the running world when it comes to building base mileage. Although this is a good rule to follow, it needs tweaking slightly as if you followed this rule to the letter, then an average starting runner would be up to 120miles in six months, which is asking for trouble! To begin with, build your weekly mileage up by 10% a week, but every fourth week cut your mileage back down by 20% to give your body a rest and time to recover. The following week, you can up your mileage from the third week level by 10% again. Follow this progression until your training stagnates and you find yourself not being able to add extra mileage onto your total without exhausting yourself as you will have reached your base fitness level. After this level you find that you will only be able to increase your mileage with sustained long term training which might see you only make small gains, as you need to get your body used to long distance training. It is unwise to push past this level without a good six months training behind you as only then will you be in a position to understand how your body responds to running and therefore will be able to spot any injury signs which occur as a result of upping your training in the future.
Alternate hard and easy days of training
Another great rule of thumb that can make all the difference when it comes to injury prevention. There are different types of running training sessions that are designed to work 
different systems and muscles in the body in different ways, enabling a runner to target specific weaknesses they may have or to train towards a particular race distance or type. For example, ‘Hill Reps’ is essentially where a runner will run repetitions up hills with jog recoveries on the downs slopes in order to improve both leg strength and cardiovascular capacity and ultimately improve their speed and power in races. This type of session can be classes as a Hard training session as anyone who has done this type of session will tell you, they are very taxing and strenuous sessions when attempted properly. Alternatively, an easy paced 10km run might be considered an Easy session for a runner training for a half marathon.
The aim is to not have two hard days back to back and ideally you would either interlace your hard days with easy days or even rest days. This gives your body time to recover from hard sessions and build muscle strength in the places that hard sessions train. Without rest or easy days in between hard days, you run the risk of wearing your body down as it cannot repair or build the muscles that are needed and as a result you run the risk of suffering from overuse injuries.
Cross training!
Tip number three come straight from the triathletes out there. When athletes train for a triathlon they incorporate training sessions that revolve around the three components of the race; swimming, cycling and running. Each component uses different muscle groups and therefore while an athlete is training for say swimming, they are resting the muscles needed for running or cycling.
If a runner adopts the same strategy then they can improve their fitness at the same time as reducing the risk of overtraining injuries. Say you have a training schedule at the moment
where you are running six times a week and incorporating a mix of hard and easy days. This is quite an intensive running schedule for anyone that isn’t a professional athlete and could result in overuse injuries, especially if you find your performance stagnating and you try to add in extra hard sessions at the expense of your easy and rest days. Instead of adding in another hard day, you could swap out and easy day for a swimming session. Working up to an hour’s hard swimming in the pool is a good a work out as a hour run and will improve your cardiovascular fitness in the same way as hard running session but without adding to the risk of injury. In fact, swimming is a great cross training session to add in to any schedule as it also improves your core stability and tones your upper body, all of which contribute to an improved running economy and therefore less chance of injury (plus no need for Liposuction haha!)
Other cross training sessions you could think about adding into your routine could be things like spinning sessions, cross trainer or stationary bike as when done properly, these sessions will improve your cardiovascular fitness whilst giving the muscles that can be prone to overuse, valuable time to rest and repair.
Core and Pelvic Stability exercises
Recommended by most sports injury medical professionals, core and pelvic stability exercises are one of the best ways you can prevent running related injuries.
Core stability exercises aim to improve the small supporting muscles that stabilise and support the spine and pelvis. Strong core muscles will facilitate the efficient control of movement and spread the impact of running footfall effectively without damaging the spine or pelvis.
Great lists of core stability exercises can be found with a simple internet search but the best thing to do if you are prone to injury or have had a running related injury in the past, is to consult a physiotherapist who will be able to identify the individual muscle or tendon that is week or damaged and will be able to tailor a program of exercises to help you individually.
Developing a strong healthy core is paramount for anyone who is looking to stick with the sport long term and there are also a wide range of other benefits to developing a strong core. Improving muscle mass and tone by undertaking any kind of long term resistance exercise program is a great way to burn fat and maintain a balanced training program. Too many people fail to incorporate any kind of resistance training into their training schedule and as a result either don’t meet their fitness and weight loss goals (sometimes even resorting cosmetic surgery – have you seen how high liposuction prices area lately?!) or end up falling prey to attrition injuries such as tendonitis.
Good Shoes
Seemingly an obvious tip for number five, but you would be surprised how many injures stem from either inappropriate or worn out shoes.
A specialist running shoe fitted by an expert can work wonders in preventing injury and should not be understated in any way. Specialist running trainers made by the likes of Asics, 
Brooks, Adidas, Nike, Salomon, Mizuno, invo-8 and a number of other shoe manufacturers not only offer padding and support but they also help to dissipate the injury causing shock that every running stride creates by helping the foot to role from heel to toe efficiently, facilitating a smooth running stride.
Specialist shoes can also correct excessive role of the foot (called pronation) which can place excess stress on the outside of the hip and knees and can lead to all sorts of problems if not accounted for.
A good pair of running shoes will set you back about £60 but if you need extra support or padding then be prepared to pay upwards of £100.
This brings the question ‘how often should i replace my running trainers?’ Shoes like any piece of equipment will wear down over time and will need replacing. The general rule is about every 300-400 miles, but depends on your trainers, the type of running you do and how susceptible you are to injury. I good indicator of how often you should replace your trainers is to check the sole of the shoe for any obvious signs of wear and make your judgement accordingly.