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Fitango EducationHealth Topics

Running

1

Overview

Running is defined as the following action:

“To move swiftly on foot so

that both feet leave the ground during each stride.”

Running is also

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Overview

one of the most popular mass-participation sports in the world with large

running events –such as the New York and London marathons – drawing a wide

number of competitors from around the world. It was reported that in 2002 as

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Overview

many as 7.7 million Americans took part in road races.

4

Top resources

Runner’s World

www.runnersworld.com

New York Road Runners

http://www.nyrr.org/

Cool Running

5

Top resources

http://www.coolrunning.com/

Running & Jogging

http://running.about.com/

Map My Run

6

Why I run

Taken from the moteevate blog.

I was 27-years-old when my metabolism

finally gave in. Until then I could eat whatever I wanted to eat, drink as much

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Why I run

as I wanted to drink and park myself on the couch for as long as I liked. It

didn’t matter what I did, my body just wouldn’t accumulate any fat. I was a

rake, stick-thin, able to wriggle into any pair of pants with ease.

But that all suddenly stopped when I hit my

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Why I run

late twenties. I began to notice a dune of fat forming around my midriff, an

overspill of flesh poured over my waistband, and my bottom began to look like

it didn’t belong in skinny jeans.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t put on a huge

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Why I run

amount of weight, but it was enough to notice or make people wonder if I was

smuggling something under my shirt.

That was my motivation to start running

again. I say again because, back in high school, I was a keen cross country

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Why I run

runner. In those halcyon days I would zip through half a mile in a little over

two minutes. Training was intense – I ran across endless sand dunes that

stretched out across the Scottish coastline, veered inland and sped through

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Why I run

scarp, vale and stubble fields, and thought nothing of rushing up hills and

barreling down the other side. But then off I went to university and suddenly

hill reps and weekend races didn’t seem like such a good idea. Within a couple

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Why I run

of months I would only ever run to catch a bus.

You might think that my previous athletic

experience would be a help when I laced up my running shoes after all those

years. Quite the opposite in fact – when I started running again my inability

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Why I run

to trundle through a mile without feeling like my lungs had been napalmed made

for a cruel reminder of how unkind I’d been to my body. I thought that it would

be easy to get back into shape, that I’d shed pounds and smash my personal

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Why I run

bests in no time. I mean, I’m an adult now, surely the late twenties me can run

faster than the 15-year-old version? Well, it turns out that me 2.0 isn’t even

quick enough to taste the dust of my teenage self. The culmination of too many

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Why I run

late nights, too much beer and a knee mangled in a bizarre dry ski slope

accident (but that’s another blog post entirely).

But still I kept on running. Don’t get me

wrong, those first few training sessions were tough. There was the physical

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Why I run

pain of dragging leaden legs through two miles of continuous running; then

there was the wounded pride when I realized that my body couldn’t handle what

my mind expected it to do. But I didn’t give up because I knew that, even if I

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Why I run

was trundling rather than running, I was starting to get healthy again. Soon

enough I saw changes in my body. I could return to store changing rooms and try

on skinny fit jeans without fear of getting stuck and having to be removed from

them by the “Jaws of Life”.

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Why I run

After that I still didn’t stop running. I

kept on going because, when the fear of going into cardiac arrest had cooled, I

realized that, actually, I really enjoy it. There’s a real pleasure in doing

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Why I run

something so primal, something as fundamental as putting one foot in front of

the other. Increasingly we are cooped up in offices and stuck behind desks all

day; it’s liberating to use your body for something other than tapping away on

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Why I run

a keyboard. I also found that running makes me feel great. There is

nothing more therapeutic than pounding all of your worries out on the tarmac.

Your job, your relationship, your mortgage, your team’s chances of making the

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Why I run

playoffs – none of that stuff matters when you’re three miles into a session

and towing your butt up a massive hill.

So, I guess, the reason I’ve kept on

running is because my mind has paired it with positives – I find it therapeutic

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Why I run

and it makes me feel good. This, it seems, is a crucial factor in maintaining

the motivation to keep lacing up your running shoes and hitting the road. While

panning for internet gold to post on the moteevate twitter feed

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Why I run

I came across this Huffington Post article. In it Christy Matta –

trainer, consultant, writer and general all-round motivational guru – said: “If

exercising more often is paired in your mind with missing relaxing time in

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Why I run

front of the TV, you’ll likely lose your enthusiasm for exercising. On the

other hand, if exercising means you get a much-needed break and some time with

a friend, you’re much more likely to stick with it.”

So, if you’re struggling to heave yourself

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Why I run

off the couch, pause for a second and try to re-classify the role of exercise

in your life. It shouldn’t be a chore, and if it is you will pass it up

whenever you get the chance. Instead, pair it with positives – the buzz you get

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Why I run

after completing a workout, the way exercise clears your mind or, if this works

for you, the opportunity it gives you to wear spandex.

I’ve found my positives, and since then

I’ve never looked back – except to admire my once-again-svelte rear end.

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Why I run

Matthew Nelson