THE Clinic at Hampden will see one of its busiest weeks of the year following tomorrow's Women's 10K in Glasgow.

Many of the thousands of runners will look for help with everything from a massage to blisters, muscle tears and those aches and pains that just won't go away.

So what will you do to your body during the one-two hours running around the streets of Glasgow?

For regular runners, whose bodies are used to running these distances, there may be little in the way of after-effects.

For the majority of fun-runners, especially those running a 10K for the first time, the aches and pains may take a few days to settle.

During exercise, our muscles suffer repeated small amounts of damage - these "micro-tears" are the result of the repeated pounding on the hard surface throughout the race.

Add cramp to this, and you can appreciate why your legs still ache. Muscle soreness can be eased by massage, but remember this should be gentle initially to allow the muscle damage to heal.

Blisters are most common on the toes and sole of the feet and are usually due to friction. Most runners are well aware of the need to have good shoes, which are well "broken in".

Try not to burst blisters - keep them clean and covered to prevent secondary infection. Next time make sure that your feet are well-lubricated to avoid blisters. Jogger's nipple, like blisters, is caused by repeated friction.

Problems with dehydration and the need for post-race refuelling are less common in a 10K than the longer distances of marathons or half-marathons. Careful planning will have avoided you to be running on empty.

The good news is that our body stores of Glycogen - our main energy source during a long run - lasts 1½ to 2 hours, just enough to see most of us through the race.

These stores need to be replenished after the race, often forgotten in the euphoria of making it to the finish.

Dehydration may have made you a bit dizzy or light-headed by the end of the race, but will quickly reverse with adequate fluid replacement.

Another factor, which can cause runners to feel a bit light-headed after exercise, results from the effect of the body's muscles working hard to "pump" the blood back to the heart. When you stop running, this pump effect is lost, resulting in that faint feeling.

The good news is that most of the muscle stiffness will settle within a few days.

Injury is not uncommon during and after such a race, so if things don't settle, then see a good sports physio for advice and treatment.

The most important thing to do after an effort such as tomorrow's 10K is to go home, relax with your feet up and get looked after by the family.

Make the most of it as very quickly your heroic effort will be forgotten and it will be back to the usual routine.

For those who have completed their first 10K, why not continue your running - it's great fun, good for your health and opens up a new area of your social life.

The Glasgow Running Network and JogScotland have local running groups, which provide the companionship, motivation, and security of running with others of similar ability, run by experienced, friendly jog leaders.

The National Stadium Sports Health and Injury Clinic is on 0141-616 6161 and www.sportsmedicinecentre.org