Running is a great way to get and keep fit. But maybe there isn’t always much time in the day to lace up your runners, haul yourself out the door and put the kilometres behind you. And if you are starting out, the sight of seasoned runners zipping by can be a bit staggering.
But rest assured that even getting out for a short run is good, even if you are not breaking any land speed records.
A study from Iowa State University looked at data from more than 55,000 adults and found that, compared to non-runners, runners had lower risks of mortality. Persistent runners tended to have more benefits.
And you don’t have to run enormous distances at competitive speeds to enjoy the positives. “Running, even 5 to 10 min/day and at slow speeds less than 6mp/h, is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease,” note the authors in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.