The benefits of running are too numerous to list!
Many people think they know the benefits of running. And of course the benefits vary from person to person. For a bank robber, the benefits are reasonably clear: the need to be faster than the cops! For the rest of us, the benefits may be a little less obvious!
So what are the benefits of running:
- Weight control. If you are overweight, starting to run will help you lose weight. When you run, you use more calories than when you don’t run, which helps create a calorie deficit. Any deficit causes your body to burn fat, reducing your weight. In addition to the calories you burn, being a runner tends to make your leg muscles grow in mass. This increase in muscle mass in turn increases your metabolism so that your body uses more calories when you are resting than before. So you use even more calories.
- Reduce the risk of premature death. Many studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of premature death compared to people who don’t exercise. Simple as that. No matter what health problems you had before you started, the basic fact that you now run regularly will reduce your risk of early death.
- Osteoporosis. Many older people, especially women, begin to experience a loss of bone density. Regular weight-bearing exercise (for example, running) helps reduce bone density loss, which reduces the risks of bone fractures.
- Wellness Running makes you feel better about yourself. Partly because you’re getting fitter and slimmer. Partly because it releases endorphins, which are your own natural feel-good chemicals.
- Diabetes. There’s plenty of evidence that running reduces the risks of developing diabetes and can help reduce symptoms if you already have it.
- Heart disease. The high level of exertion required for running has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease. This is the leading cause of death in the UK (source: Office for National Statistics) and the US (source: Center for National Health Statistics), which is one reason why running reduces the risk of death prematurely so effectively.
- Health in general. Running stimulates the immune system, reducing the probability of catching colds, flu, etc.
There are many other great benefits of running. For me, one of the most important cannot be quantified. The opportunity to have some time to myself, when I can think about what is important to me without interruption, while at the same time enjoying the countryside and wildlife. Aside from all the health benefits, having this chance to connect with the natural world really does make it feel great to be alive.
