When I decided to run my first marathon almost a decade ago I didn’t do it because I wanted to get in shape, lower my blood pressure or reduce my risk of a heart attack. I decided to run 26.2 miles because a guy I dated in college doubted that I could do it. So, I proved him wrong and lost a few pounds in the process.
It’s not exactly the most inspiring story out there, but it just goes to show that there are a variety of factors that motivate people to run. If you don’t have anyone in your life that you want to prove a point to then perhaps this next study will provide you with the inspiration you need to get moving.
New research just released by Stanford University’s School of Medicine shows that regular running slows the effects of aging. The new study tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years and found that not only do older runners have fewer disabilities, but also they are half as likely as non-runners to die early deaths.
Researchers followed 538 runners (all of them were part of running clubs) over the age 50 and compared them to a similar group of 423 non-runners. The runners, now in their 70s and 80s, answered yearly questionnaires about their ability to perform everyday activities such as walking, dressing, grooming, getting out of a chair, and gripping objects.
Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died, compared with only 15% of the runners.
In the end researchers concluded that regular aerobic activity makes people healthier as they age, and in this particular case they found running helped participants live longer. Another interesting discovery the study found was that while all of the participants became more disabled after 20 years, for runners the onset of disability started later. In addition, the study found regular running (in this case an average of 76 minutes per week) was linked to lower rates of cardiovascular deaths and deaths from caused by strokes, heart attacks, cancer, and neurological diseases.
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