The Benefits of Running

What are the benefits of running?

‘Nah don’t need to run..’

‘Eugh too much effort.’

‘What’s the point?’

Most people will have heard those responses, in fact a lot of us will have uttered one or two of them at some point. So, why would someone run?

1. Saves you money

Of course, like everything else in the 21^st century, running in some way or other costs money. However, those who take up running actually find it improves their bank balance and there are several reasons for this;

a) It can replace a more expensive (and less beneficial) pastime or sport, such as a gym membership which can easily cost in excess of £150 per month. Other popular sports such as tennis or cycling also have massive costs associated, which running just doesn’t.

b) Runners drink less; when people become regular runners, they have a new-found appreciation for health and a commitment to themselves that they want to run as much as possible. This means that when deciding whether to have that bottle of wine or a couple of pints at the pub, you’re more likely to say no so that you can get up the next morning and run. Ignoring any health benefits, this simply saves you money.

2. It’s Good for your social life

People often share in the misconception that runners are a lonely group that go out for a solitary run and come back home having talked to no one else or interacted with the world, this couldn’t be further from the truth (unless you want it to be).

In fact, running is a huge boost to the social life of anyone, and this boost can come in a wide range of guises depending on your situation;

a) You can meet new people on runs; Unless you have your own, by design, secluded little route then you will come across lots of other runners when you go out. And these days it’s pretty difficult not to end up stood waiting at traffic lights with another runner, walking past someone else who has stopped to catch a breath or is running with their dog. Runners are a friendly bunch and no one will hesitate to chat, share tips and tricks, good routes or information so make the most of it.

b) Meet people for runs; You don’t even have to set off alone with the hope of meeting someone new; running with friends, family or colleagues is now commonplace. It’s such a popular sport nowadays that it’s nearly impossible not to know someone that runs, so if you don’t fancy doing it alone, then invite people along. You’ll learn from each other (you have the benefit from being in the RunClever Academy so you will know far more than anyone else, feel free to show off!), you’ll have fun together and be better friends for it!

c) Join a club or group; Let’s say none of your friends run (or they run too quick or slow for you), you might then want to join running club. It feels like there are now as many running clubs as there are runners (we might be exaggerating a little), but this means you really are spoilt for choice. Contrary to popular belief, clubs are not just for the more experienced runners, in fact, they are more often than not focussed on beginners. There are also lots of niche clubs such as for new mothers, disabled people, veteran runners etc. So, you should have no problem finding one that’s right for you.

3. Improves your fitness

When it comes down to it, fitness is what started the running craze and it’s still right at the centre of the benefits running provides, for example;

a) You can go further; Unless you’re doing something quite peculiar, the more you run, the further you will be able to go. The further you are able to go, the bigger variety of routes you’ll be able to enjoy and the more races you will be able to take part in.

Did you know?

More than 30% of RunClever athletes mentioned the London Marathon in their goals when joining.

b) you can go faster; Just like above, the more you run, the faster you will be able to do it! The average person, whether they will admit it or not, is pretty competitive. Give someone the choice if they will finish 5^th or 500^th in a race, I know what they would choose. Likewise, give them the choice of being the one who runs past everyone else in the park, or the one whom everyone runs past… Same result! So being able to get fitter and go faster can have knock-on effects of increasing confidence as well as health, by being able to push yourself a little further.

c) You will get stronger; According to Athletics England, there are 5 components of fitness; 2 of them are speed and endurance as we’ve covered above, and another one is strength. Running will improve your all-round strength, leg muscles will be the area where you will see a quick and impressive increase in muscle mass. But remember, every time you move your legs, you also move your arms and your core has to work to stabilise the whole body. This leads to improvements across the board and you will soon find that this makes a lot of everyday activities a lot easier.

4. Improves your health

When we say it ‘improves your health, we mean it’s the closest thing to the ‘Elixir of fife’ you’re ever going to get. This really isn’t an exaggeration, there are so many benefits and we cover these things in a lot more detail in our academy, so we’ll just give a quick nod to some of the health benefits here;

a) Weight; There average person will burn 100 calories per mile, and then the body continues to burn even more calories after you’ve stopped running! So, it’s great for losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight.

b) Joints; Did some lazy person tell you that running is bad for your knees and then go back to eating a big mac and never running? They have told that to a lot of people over the years, too bad medical research has shown that through various mechanisms, running gives you healthier joints. For example, the strengthening of muscles around joints, takes the stress from the actual joints, allowing them to remain relatively unscathed! As well as this, the fact runners are much more able to achieve a healthy weight also takes the strain off.

c) Heart: Not only do studies show that you reduce your risk of heart disease by more than 30% with regular running but doing it right will lead to a significantly lower resting heart rate to take the strain off.

Did you know?

Mo Farah’s resting heart rate is 33bpm, while the UK average is around 80bmp.

(Anything under 60bpm is considered to fall within the medical condition of bradycardia (slow heart rate), however, this is accepted as positive if exercise-induced).

d) Brain; Running enhances memory and cognition, there are ongoing debates about whether this is temporary or permanent, however, all this means is if you run regularly then the benefit is permanent regardless!

e) Bones; Running regularly improves, then later in life maintains, bone density. This reduces the risk of all kinds of injuries or developing osteoporosis.

f) immune system; Unless you’re pushing yourself to an extreme, running will provide a big boost to your immune system. It’s only when you get to arduous tasks such as marathons does your body start to produce cortisol in large amounts which suppresses the immune system.

g) blood pressure; As muscles strengthen, new blood vessels are created and the bodies circulatory system improves. To keep it simple, this leads to a healthy blood pressure and all the health benefits associated.

h) Muscles; You’ve already heard how muscles can help joints and blood pressure, showing the wide range of health benefits they can have. So, the fact that running increases muscle size, strength and endurance throughout the body is fantastic news, not to mention other benefits they can bring such as increased confidence.

Muscle strength increases with running, reducing joint problems, lowering blood pressure and improving all-round fitness. Body shape changes can help self-confidence too.

i) Hearing; It turns out that the increased blood flow from running also increases blood flow to the ears and therefore improves your hearing. Not exactly a reason to start running on its own, but every little helps!

j) Longevity: “30 minutes or more of aerobic exercise on a regular basis makes people significantly less likely to die from any cause.”

A big component of that is a healthier heart, but there is also tonnes of research showing conclusively that running results in a reduced risk of cancer and many, many other illnesses and ailments. So, whilst running won’t make you live forever, evidence shows it can add years to your life expectancy.

5. Improves mental health

There’s a whole section on RunClever dedicated to mentality and wellbeing when it comes to Running fitness so we will just introduce it here.

A 2006 study published in ‘Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise’, showed that running instantly elevated the mood of people with a major depressive disorder, this has been followed since and every time shown to do the very same thing.

Running gets you outside and gets you interacting with other people, which is important for everyone, but especially the young and the old.

It gives you time to think, increases confidence, helps with sleep and acts as a form of stress relief too. There’s not too much more you can ask for when it comes to the mental health benefits of running really!

6. Helps with everyday life

All the benefits mentioned above are fantastic things, but what do each of them matter? Well, here’s one way to think about it, someone once said “I don’t run 1 hour for that hour, I run it for the other 23”. By this, they meant that all those benefits don’t really do much for you in that next hour of running (except being able to go a little bit further or a little bit quicker) but think about the other 23 hours in the day.

When your dog wants to keep going, you’re not the disappointing one who gets tired and drags you both home or when your kids, nieces or nephews are running you ragged with their near-endless energy, you have a chance of outlasting them. Suddenly you’re not the one on the football team that has a stitch after 5 minutes but you’re the one with the energy to run up and score a 90^th minute winner, or you can carry all of the shopping in from the car in just one journey!

You’ll never miss the bus or train because you can run for it; you can have that big bag of crisps whilst watching the rugby and not worrying about your weight. A bit of cold or rain, thirst or hunger is nothing to you now, you’ve been there, done that and have literally got the t-shirt. Your Strava or Runkeeper can tell you, for a fact, that you’re fitter today than you were yesterday… Why wouldn’t you want all that?