If running bothers it ditch the running. Unless you are training for a 5k or something else, then by all means, keep running to train for it. But if you are only running for cardiovascular conditioning there are better methods; Tire Dragging, Hill Sprints, Barbell Complexes, Burpees. If you are running to get lean/create a caloric deficit than consider just lowering calories a bit.
That said, if you truly must keep running in the mix, then I recommend foam rolling.
Check out this article, it will explain foam rolling better than I can:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...r_for_10_bucks
Also, do either of these stretches periodically, it feels great for a tight IT band.
