Whether you’re young or — let’s just say more wise — running injuries shouldn’t be taken lightly. By no means do you need to be overly cautious in every step you take, but it is important to keep potential injuries in mind. The last thing you want is to be kept on the sidelines while you recover.

So if you get one of these injuries, how long will you be off your feet? The truth is, as you can imagine, it varies quite a bit depending on what ailment you’re facing. A stress fracture in the foot is a pretty common injury for runners, and the recovery time will run you 6 to 8 weeks until the fracture heals. Of course, that’s just the average timeline and it can vary for each person.

Leading athletic professionals know that when it comes to staying healthy and injury free, cautious and consistent training is key, no matter your age.

For more serious injuries, the recovery can be much more intensive. If you were to experience significant trauma to your knee, for example, it may require total knee replacement (TKA) surgery. In that case, you’d have to undergo a 1-2 hour surgery and a recovery period of 3 to 12 months.

Obviously, no one wants to be injured. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens and you just have to deal with it. The other consideration is post-recovery — not only had you just been kept from running for a significant period of time, but now you’ll need to build your performance back up to what it was. All this to say, don’t be reckless when running or you may regret it!