Runners have to deal with it since it’s quite easy for skin to vigorously rub against your clothing and other parts of your body when running. It’s irritating like hell and for extreme cases, quite painful. Here are some ways you can deal with it:

1. Invest in dry-fit apparel and/or spandex. Spandex (like compression shorts) can act like a “second” skin to protect areas like thighs from rubbing vigorously against looser clothing (running shorts).

2. Apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or Body Glide over the area. You can do this even before running to prevent your skin from chafing. Vaseline works too to sooth chafed areas.

3. Apply talcum powder. Chafing is aggravated by excessive sweating. Try to stay dry. Anti-perspirants might make areas more prone to sensitivity though. Use powder instead (talc, corn startch).

4. Keep yourself hydrated. If you’re not hydrated enough, your sweat might contain a higher concentration of salt. Once this accumulates on your skin, you’re more likely to chafe.

That’s when I found out that I’m practically destroying my knees wearing the wrong kind of shoes. People have different foot types and, if you’re jogging and running, you better get one. Foot type determines the way your foot distributes weight in a cycle of a gait (pronation). If you happen to over- or under-pronate (often times easily addressed by the proper shoes), it can damage your feet, knees and legs .

You can check your foot type by a simple wet test. Simply dampen your soles and step on a sheet of paper (see picture). The mark it leaves on the paper can tell you your foot type. As for what they mean.

Normal -A normal foot is considered to have normal pronation which means the foot lands on the outside of the heel and rolls slightly inward absorbing the impact. People with such feet can practically wear any shoe though springing for a stability model would be best.

Flat (My foot type) – The flat foot overpronates meaning the outside of the heel rolls excessively inward to absorb impact. This excessive action makes people with flat feet more susceptible to injury. Best shoes would be stability models with motion control features.

High-arched - The opposite of the flat foot, high-arched feet causes one to underpronate (or supinate). This means that the impact is not efficiently absorbed through pronation. Best shoes wold be those that provide cushioning.

While these can tell you much about what running shoe is best for you, it’s always best to consult with experts. Try visiting a special running store that offer gait analysis as well so they can direct you to the best gear for your foot type.