running and swimming...adversaries?

Former Member
Former Member
I run and swim for fitness, competing in both sports. I'm a better swimmer than runner, so have been focussing more on running lately (especially as our small pool does not offer many masters or lengths only times). Many people have told me that running has a negative effect on swimming for various reasons: 1. running makes your ankles inflexible 2. running makes you lose muscle mass 3. running emphasizes quad muscles too much, which will throw swimming strokes off Is there any truth to the above? Can running complement swimming? Any thoughts or info on running and swimming would be appreciated.