does anyone here run?

[Basi]

Just curious. It's one of my major hobbies so most forums I go on I break the ice with this question

[Marat]

Only when I have diarrhoea.

 

Seriously, though, there is so much to do in life and so little time, I simply can't afford to run unless I can find a way to mount a brace on my chest to hold a book and turn the pages so I can get reading done while I run.

[Basi]

i guarantee you can find something in your life that is less meaningful than the potential benefits running can provide.

 

This is an article written by an anonymous osteopathic surgeon:

 

***Whether you have taken up running to lose weight, to improve fitness, to relieve stress, to compete, or just to kill time, you'll find that the benefits are many.

 

No doubt you're looking for "the best way" to run, and we can point you in the right direction. Keep in mind, though, that there are few universal truths to running. Everything depends on the individual, and techniques that some runners swear by might not be right for you. Experiment, find what makes you comfortable. It's not terribly complicated: the only hard and fast rule to running is that you simply keep putting one foot ahead of the other.

 

 

Benefits of Running

Why did you decide to start? Most likely your answer includes feeling better--physically, mentally, emotionally. Running is among the best aerobic exercises for physical conditioning of your heart and lungs. Studies have shown the health benefits to be enormous, reducing the likelihood of everything from the common cold to cancer. Your stamina will increase. You'll lose weight; most beginners lose nearly a pound a week.

 

Just as important, running--like many forms of exercise -- is a great cure for stress, emotional strain, even mild depression. You'll likely find yourself with fewer headaches and more energy, patience, humor and creativity. Studies have found that healthy adults who exercise regularly are generally happier than those who don't.

 

And running, quite simply, is convenient. You don't need any elaborate gear. No special playing field or apparatus. No need to juggle the schedules of others. Just a pair of shoes and the inclination to get out the door.

 

 

Rewards of the Spirit

You've probably started running for the physical benefits, but you will quickly discover other, more metaphysical rewards. Yep, no kidding: Metaphysical. Health reasons may be why most start running, but it's the less tangible benefits that finally motivate us to persist, to become "runners."

 

While running can be a social activity, it is more frequently an opportunity to spend a little time with yourself and your thoughts, a chance to develop an increased self-awareness. As you become more aware of the nuances and condition of your own body, you also discover things about your inner self.

 

Many say they are at their most creative and lucid, even meditative, during their runs, as the worries of the day slip away. Confidence increases as you push your own limits, meeting goals and often surprising yourself by exceeding your own expectations. Running is a sport of discipline, sometimes of sacrifice, and always of self-reliance. You may surprise yourself with your capacity for all three. The personal rewards can be quite powerful. ***

 

 

There are studies being done in Hong Kong right now that running for long durations stimulates glial cell growth and neuroplasticity (and I don't think I have to list the benefits that would provide on this forum ;d)

[Marat]

It might be difficult rigorously to distinguish the health benefits of running or of any sort of exercise from the health benefits of being healthy enough to begin with to be able to run, or to want to run rather than lie on the couch, trying to catch your breath as a result of your cardiomyopathy, for example. How do we know whether it is only the healthy who can run, and this accounts for the link between running and health, or whether running actually improves baseline health? Any test you could conduct would have to begin by disqualifying sick people from participating, since otherwise it would be unethical to expose them to the medical risks of running.

 

Also, if I lose 2% of my productive time by running every day, and as a result I only gain 1% additional lifespan or can only extend the productive fraction of my existing life expectancy by 1%, then running is unprofitable. I've never seen anyone do a rigorous cost/benefit analysis of running, since they always seem to presuppose that the experience itself is valuable, rather than valuable only for its side-effects on health.

[pwagen]

Seriously, though, there is so much to do in life and so little time, I simply can't afford to run unless I can find a way to mount a brace on my chest to hold a book and turn the pages so I can get reading done while I run.

If you run to where you're supposed to be, you get there sooner thus can get to work faster!

[Marat]

I guess I'll have to move farther away from where I work, but not so far away that I have to drive.

[CaptainPanic]

Running only makes sense on the really short distances. Anything longer than 100-200 meters will be faster by bicycle.

Bicycles will increase your action radius (100 km is possible with relatively little training), can be a good exercise as well, and are much more gentle on the joints (runners absorb quite a lot of shocks with the cartilege).

[PrayingMantis.]

Well I'm very passionate about running. I used to play athletics (I quitted it in the first year of my degree) that's why "simply running" is second nature for me. I like running not only for its healthy beneftis, but also because I feel happier as well as being able to see things differently, yes, it is something like a drug (the healthiest drug).

 

So I don't think that you have to spend 2% of your productive time since you just run in your free time, in addition, I dare say that running everyday will increase for sure your lifespan for more than 1%.

 

Then...what are you doing here and not running?

 

See you!

[hawksmere]

Yes, about 5k most mornings before work and a long 'un on a Sunday with a rest on Saturday. Great way to start the day