Well this is great news! While I am not much of a runner I do try to keep up with a run a week for health benefits. My history with running occasionally has always been in the preparation to train for something else. When in high school, I took up running my senior year to train for cross country skiing in the off season. It carried over on into college and I ran ever so often to try to keep in shape and continued to do so to date.
I am not particularly a huge fan of running but again I do it to train for other sports I want to do. For one, it strengthens my legs and challenges my coordination with balance for activities such as hiking. Secondly, I am able to get cardiovascular exercise which is important for my circulation, energy, and to keep my respiratory system in shape for scuba diving (better fitness = more efficient air consumption).
Wednesday night the dogs and I took in a good 22 minute run (about 2.25 to 2.4 miles) and then walked back. We are experiencing a heat wave and truthfully I do terrible in the heat. So we waited until the evening and ran on the mostly tree covered portion of the trail where it is a few degrees cooler. However, it was still hot for the dogs and I was tired myself so we ran half of the route and walked the other half stopping a few minutes hear the end for the dogs to cool off in the river.
Here is the promising article on Dr. Mercola's website regarding the health benefits of running:
Running Can Slow Your Aging Process
Running on a regular basis can slow the effects of aging. A study has shown that elderly joggers are half as likely to die prematurely from conditions like cancer than non-runners. They also enjoyed a healthier life with fewer disabilities.
The research tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years, comparing them to a similar group of non-runners. Nineteen years into the study, 34 percent of the non-runners had died, compared to only 15 percent of the runners.
Both groups became more disabled with age, but for the runners the onset of disability started an average of 16 years later.
The health gap between the runners and non-runners continued to widen even as the subjects entered their 80’s.
Sources:
BBC News August 11, 2008
As always, you can connect to the link for Dr. Mercola's website by clicking on the lighthouse icon in the post title.
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