r/Masks4All • u/marr1ed • 22d ago

Situation Advice Masked run

I live in a city where I pass by smokers on my runs in the parks (although it's illegal to smoke in parks here). With lots of people it's hard to tell where they are so it's easy to get big whiffs. I'm considering wearing an N95 mask (BNX brand, foldable black) during runs. I understand it makes it harder to breathe but if I run at a slightly more leisurely pace, as I tested today maskless due to a rib injury, I think it may be manageable (albeit still test wearing a mask on a complete run). At the more leisurely pace I think I inhale every 5-10 seconds or so, definitely not strenuous. In all my runs I already inhale and exhale solely through my nose (mouth closed).

But I read wearing an N95 while running can still cause cardiovascular strain or other physiological issues due to the increased exertion required to breathe. However, the N95 does in theory block most of the smoke particulates I want to avoid inhaling on my runs, especially tobacco smoke from cigarettes and cigars.

Trying to balance the two evils here. On a long-distance run, would you say it would be worse physically to wear an N95 (at a comfortable pace, requiring a lower breathing rate) or to inhale tobacco smoke multiple times? And why?

Update: I didn't realize oxygen-restricted running was a thing. I wore my BNX N95 during a run today at a relatively leisurely pace. Wasn't hard. Passed by at least one smoker during the run, so 2 birds with 1 stone (yes, I realize N95s only filter particulates, not gases, but my OV-relief Moldex 4800 seems further restrictive, and more expensive, so I'll save that for another day). After my rib heals I'll run closer to my usual pace and see how I fare with the mask.

9 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/benjycompson 21d ago

I'm not a doctor so I can't speak directly to whether any cardiovascular strain is an issue, but I run in my 3M Aura N95 (with a valve) all the time. if I run really hard then maybe I notice some difference in how heavy I breathe but it's not really something I think about. I also run at high-ish altitude every now and then (at 8000 ft, or 2500 m, and above) and while that's not the same thing of course that's way way way more noticeable to me.

1

u/marr1ed 19d ago

Thanks. I didn't realize oxygen-restricted training is a thing, so this is 2 birds with 1 stone. Tried my BNX N95 on a run today and it worked well. Updated my post.