Have you ever twisted an ankle on a run? Hurts, doesn't it? There are a few things that you can do that will minimize how much it hurts, though, and for how long.
The worst experience that I had twisting an ankle was when I was in high school during cross country season.
The race was right between our conference and state championship meets, and the weather before the race was so bad that my coach was considering not having the varsity squad compete.
Of course, no sooner did he say that then the clouds broke and the sun came out.
During the race, I stepped on some wet leaves.
I don't know if there was a small hole under them, or I just slipped on the leaves, or if there was a root or rock or whatever.
I just knew that my ankle was bent at an unnatural angle and then I was sliding down the side of the mountain on my face.
(That seemed like a bad idea so I put my shoulder down and rolled the rest of the way.
) I fell back onto the course near the bottom and spent the next week refusing to admit my ankle was broken.
That was an extreme case.
Normally when I twist an ankle, it's just a minor sprain that aches for a day or two and then is fine after that.
There are a couple of things that you can do at the moment that you twist your ankle to minimize the damage, both of which are counter-intuitive so you may not necessarily think of doing them when you hurt yourself.

1. Let yourself fall as soon as you feel your ankle starting to turn.
   By allowing yourself to fall over, you'll minimize the angle that your ankle is being forced into and will avoid injuring it.
   If you can manage it, land on your shoulder; a sore shoulder is much easier to deal with than a sore ankle.
   This is an especially valuable tip when you are running on trails that are covered in dirt or snow or something else that is soft; you may want to try to keep your feet if you are running over a rock pile or near a cliff.
   If you are running on the roads, then try to avoid falling in front of a car.
   The most common thing to trip over on the roads is going to be the curb, which can be problematic given its extreme height relative to where you are running and the fact that it is what is separating you from the travel lanes.
   
2. Don't stop to nurse a twisted ankle.
   If you break your ankle, you aren't going to be able to run on it, so this obviously doesn't apply when you are seriously hurt.
   When you just tweak it a little, though, continue running as soon as you can, especially if you don't allow yourself to fall over first.
   If you stop, then it gives your ankle an opportunity to immediately swell which will make it more difficult to complete your run.
   You might have a few steps where you lurch like Quasimodo, but if you keep going then your ankle will start to feel better a lot sooner.
   

When you finish your run, try to ice the sprained ankle.
I recommend an ice massage for about 5 minutes.
Avoid taking ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatories, because icing will reduce the swelling enough to get some fresh blood into the damaged muscle tissue and start the repair process and you don't want to completely eliminate the swelling.
Doing so can mean that you'll actually take longer to recover, since the swelling is there to immobilize your ankle enough that you won't further damage it and to help speed up the recovery process.
You especially don't want to mask the pain before your next run, as then you won't know when you need to back off a little.
If you do twist your ankle, be prepared for it to ache a little bit for at least a few days.
Just take your next few runs easy (or take a few days off!) and you will be back to normal quickly.
If you do fracture the bone or twist it enough to do some serious damage, then don't hesitate to get in for an x-ray like I did when I broke my ankle.
Crutches can make it much easier to get around.