There has been a great deal of information published in the lay literature and peer-reviewed literature regarding the benefits of stretching. Many experts have chimed in on the topic but, clearly, a consensus has not been reached. There are the "no stretch" people, and the "before exercise" people and the "after exercise" people and the "long stretch" people and the "quick stretch" people. And if you do stretch, what should you stretch? The goal of the following discussion is to give some clarification to what stretches runners should do when. Some of the following is based on research, some is based on knowledge gained from the opinions of experts speak, and finally, some is from my personal experiences treating runners and being a runner.
