How to Breathe When Running (and Stop a Side Stitch)

Key Takeaways

• How you breathe when running matters less than how fast you go. Slow down until you can talk in full sentences, and walk when you need to.
• Breathe through your mouth and nose together. Nothing shows that nose-only breathing helps beginners.
• Counting steps per breath is optional. It can help you settle, but no study shows it prevents a stitch.
• A side stitch is common: about 7 in 10 runners get one in a year. Slow down or walk, push on the spot, and it usually fades within minutes.
• Some things aren't normal breathlessness. Wheezing, a tight chest, chest pain, or belly pain that stays after you stop: get it checked.

This article explains what's common. It isn't a diagnosis. If something doesn't feel right, get it checked.

---

Why You're Gasping After One Minute

Week one. The plan says jog for a minute. Forty seconds in, you're breathing hard and loud, and you wonder how anyone runs for half an hour.

Before you worry about how to breathe when running, check your pace. Beginners run faster than they need to, because running feels like it should be fast. Slow the jog right down and the same lungs cope fine.

The easiest check is talking. The CDC puts it like this: at a moderate effort you can talk, but not sing. At a hard effort you can't say more than a few words without stopping for breath. In a small study of 16 healthy adults, the point where talking first got hard sat almost exactly where breathing starts to climb steeply. So talking is a good guide to how hard you're working.

For your first weeks, aim to be able to talk in full sentences. If you can only get out a word or two, slow down. If slowing down isn't enough, walk until your breathing settles, then jog again. Walk breaks are part of the plan, and there's more on how slow is too slow.

Your heart and lungs tend to adapt faster than your bones and tendons. If your breath copes but your shins start to ache a few weeks in, read about shin splints when you start running.

How to Breathe When Running

Use your mouth and your nose. Nose-only breathing gets a lot of attention, but the studies are small and none of them are on beginners.

In one, 10 recreational runners who were used to nose breathing reached the same maximum effort that way. In another, 9 people doing a 30-second sprint test put out the same power either way, and the authors said the person's preference should decide. A review of breathing in runners notes that most people switch to their mouth as breathing gets heavier. Breathe however feels easy.

Counting steps is optional. The NHS Couch to 5K plan suggests, from week 4, to breathe in for 3 steps, then out for 2. Runners fall into rhythms like this on their own: in a classic study, one breath for every two strides, about four steps, was the most common. If counting calms you, use it. If it makes you tense, drop it. Nothing shows it makes you faster or stops stitches.

Belly breathing is unproven. Lots of guides call it the key for beginners. The review above says its effect during exercise is unknown. It won't hurt to try, but don't worry if it doesn't feel natural mid-jog.

Tip: On your next run, say a sentence out loud halfway through each jog. "I can still talk" means the pace is right.

Why Do I Get a Stitch When Running?

A stitch is a pain in one spot on the side of your belly, usually just under the ribs. Mild ones feel like a cramp or an ache. Bad ones are sharp or stabbing. Some people also feel it at the tip of the shoulder.

It's very common. In a survey of 965 people across six sports, 69% of the 439 runners had a stitch in the past year. At a 14 km community run, 27% of 848 finishers got one during the event: 30% of the runners and 16% of the walkers. The right side came up twice as often as the left.

Younger people get it more. In the large survey, stitches got less common and less painful with age. People who trained more often reported them less often, though trained runners still get them. One sports doctor, quoted in the review below, joked that the surest fix is to "grow old".

Nobody knows the cause for sure. The main review of stitch research says the best fit is irritation of the thin lining inside the belly. The old idea that the diaphragm runs short of oxygen looks unlikely. Well-trained athletes get stitches too, so one doesn't mean you're unfit.

How to Stop a Side Stitch

Slow down or walk. The review's conclusion is blunt: the most reliable way to relieve a stitch is still to stop exercising. A review in a Swiss medical journal says it usually goes within minutes of slowing or stopping. On a walk-run plan, the next walk is never far away.

Push on it and bend forward a little. In a small experiment, bending forward while tightening the belly muscles eased a stitch within seconds. So did breathing through pursed lips while keeping the lungs fuller than usual. Relaxing the belly muscles didn't help. That was only 7 people, so try it, but don't count on it.

Don't expect a magic trick. Asked what they do, almost 600 people with stitches most often named deep breathing (40%) and pressing on the spot (31%). You'll also read that you should breathe out as the opposite foot lands, which no study has tested. The review calls the evidence for every quick fix mixed, so if one doesn't work, slow down.

How to Avoid a Stitch Next Time

• Skip juice and very sugary drinks just before a run. In a trial with 40 people prone to stitches, orange juice brought on more stitches and bloating than water, a sports drink or nothing. Plain water was no worse than drinking nothing.
• Leave a gap after a big meal. At the community run, runners who ate a large meal 1 to 2 hours before were more likely to get a stitch. What the meal was didn't matter. The usual advice is to avoid a lot of food and drink for 2 hours before, a rule of thumb rather than a tested rule.
• Run tall. In 159 active young adults, people with a rounded upper back were more likely to get stitches. Running tall is worth a try, and it costs nothing.
• Keep going. People who run more often report fewer stitches, so they may come less as you settle into the plan.

When It Isn't Just a Stitch or Hard Breathing

If you've been inactive for a long time or have a heart or lung condition, talk to your GP before you start.

Where Just5K Fits

Full disclosure: this is our app. Every Just5K session starts with a 5-minute warm-up walk. The first session of First 5K is six one-minute jogs with 90-second walks between, and a voice says "Run." and "Walk." so you never have to watch the clock. If one minute is still too much, Gentle Start is four weeks that begin with brisk walks and end with short, easy jogs.

Three sessions a week leaves days off for your body to catch up. There's more on that in how often beginners should run.

Just5K is in a free public beta on TestFlight now. After the App Store release, the whole road to your first 5K stays free: Gentle Start and all eight weeks of the 5K program. 5K → 10K after its first week needs Just5K Plus, a one-time $9.99, not a subscription.

---

FAQ

Should I breathe through my nose or mouth when running?

Both. Small studies found nose breathing works for people who've practised it, but nothing shows it helps beginners, and most people switch to their mouth as breathing gets heavier.

How do I stop a side stitch while running?

Slow down or walk, press on the spot, and bend forward a little while tightening your belly. A stitch usually fades within minutes once you slow down.

Why do I get a stitch when running?

The cause isn't settled. The leading idea is irritation of the lining inside the belly. Juice just before a run brought on more stitches in a trial, a big meal 1 to 2 hours before is linked to them, and younger people get them more often.

Why can't I breathe when I run?

Usually because you're going faster than your body is ready for. Slow down until you can talk in full sentences, or walk until your breathing settles. If you wheeze or your chest feels tight, see a GP.

Does breathing while running get easier?

For most people, yes, within a few weeks. The NHS Couch to 5K plan says you may notice steadier breathing and quicker recovery by week 3. Slow jogs and walk breaks get you there with less gasping along the way.

---

Your breathing will catch up. Go slow enough to talk, take the walk breaks, and give it a few weeks. Just5K times the jogs and walks for you, so all you have to do is breathe.