The Health of Running

Running has been a part of my life since I was young, in high school I was on the cross-country and track teams. I have also been doing triathlons for a long time. The world of endurance sports has always been something I enjoy and I find the things some people are capable of doing simply amazing. I did not start running to become healthier, I started running because it was something I wanted to do. Growing up in grade school running was one of the things I could do well, even playing basketball I looked forward to the running part of practice. Today I still think being able to run is extremely beneficial in basketball because if you can wear the other team out it makes their job a lot harder.

It has been fairly well established that running is good for your health and their are many ways it is beneficial. Being an aerobic exercise running has been shown to be good for the heart. An article on emedicine health lists other benefits to running such as decreasing your risk to type 2 diabetes. Running can help control control blood pressure, strengthen bones and muscles, improve your mood and decrease symptoms of depression, as well as reducing your risk of some cancers and reducing the risk of dementia. An article by the Washington Post also describes one of the mechanisms which may lead to the "runners high" which gives you a feeling the run is easy and can almost feel euphoric. Running is also known to release certain endorphins in the brain which make you feel better.

Although your mind may feel better your body is still susceptible to aches and pains and even injury can be caused by running. I have personally suffered from an injury due to running, at the beginning of my junior year cross-country season I suffered a stress fracture in my femur. My stress fracture was most likely caused by the way I was running and not due to the pounding involved with running. Building up the amount you run overtime in my opinion is one of the best ways to prevent the major running injuries. As you run and put stress on the bones they will strengthen up. If you run too much too fast your bones and muscles may not have been strengthened enough which may lead to a potential injury. An article by Time points out there is some research which may suggest running can decrease the chance of some injuries.

Running is often seen as an unappealing way to work out but you don't need equipment other than a pair of shoes and you can do it anywhere at anytime. Running also burns calories quickly which is a plus. So, I would encourage others to give running a chance because it might make you fell better, just pace yourself.