Help ! Swollen knee (no pain but the odd click!) 2 weeks from Marathon day

I am running the Amsterdam Marathon on the Sunday 21st October (my second with a target time of 4hours ish) I have been getting a slight twinge in my left knee for weeks / months and the odd click - I am 50 and friends have had clicking knees for years so have not been overly concernede just felt like age/gearing up the mileage - but then last Monday night before a planned 20 miler (I have done previous long runs of 18 and 21 in training I noticed a fair bit of swelling on the same left knee - having played football the previous evening and been involved in a bit of a crunching tackle I was unsure whether this was the effects of the football or the step up in training for the marathon - so I took monday, tue and wed off - then ran 7 miles thur 8 miles fri 13 miles sat - 5 miles sun all with a slightly swollen knee  - so the question is do I go for the 21 miler tonight - before getting into a taper - or am I pilling on more risk - for my peace of mind I want to do the 21 miles a) to prove I can at least do that distance without unduepain b) to get enough training under my belt ..........all advice appreciated .....

First, you're crazy playing football in the marathon run up ... secondly, 21 miles at 13 days before race day seems a bit too much, even without the bad knee.

As Dr Dan said - the reason your last long run is three weeks before the event is to give your body enough time to recover and then rest before the marathon.  Two weeks isn't long enough to do this.

Trust in your training up to this point and follow your taper plan.  

I would not run at all, let alone 21 miles, if I had those symptoms so close to a marathon. I know what you mean about wanting the psychological boost of knowing that you can do the distance, but there's a big risk of aggravating the injury further and jeopardising your chance to do the marathon.

Get some ice on it (ice it for 20 minutes at a time, have a break for 10 mins, and then ice again) to help reduce swelling and rest it for at least a few days (no running and no football!). Then follow the rest of your taper plan.

Hmmmm hello all ....I am no expert - having only completed one - but my training schedule - which worked really well on the first was on a 2 week rather than 3 week taper ......but thanks for the advice - I will reign things in a tad ..........  

Hey Eamon, some people find a shorter taper works for them, but if I had picked up an injury (or just a persistent niggle) so close to race day then I would scrap the training plan and just play it by ear depending on how the injury responds to treatment.

Good luck with Amsterdam, I'm really jealous - it's one of the races I'd really like to do in future

Eamon Lyons 2 wrote (see)

 (I have done previous long runs of 18 and 21 in training ........  - so the question is do I go for the 21 miler tonight - before getting into a taper - or am I pilling on more risk - for my peace of mind I want to do the 21 miles a) to prove I can at least do that distance without unduepain

Hi Eamon Lyons 2, you said you've already done a 21 and 18 mile during your training, so you've kind proved you can do the distance already, and therefore don't really need to do that distance now, especially with a swollen knee. I would go with everyone else here: play it by ear, don't risk further injuries, rest, and good luck!