Is too much running not enough?
RUNNING
BY DAVE FOLEY
Virtually all research on the subject has concluded some running is good for us.
The fact you’re reading this in a magazine that advocates for running means I likely won’t have to sell you on the virtues of this activity.
We all know running regularly has been linked to a host of benefits, including lowering of blood pressure and cholesterol, weight control and stress reduction.
The question being researched isn’t “Is running good for you?” It’s, “How much running is too much?”
For me, the answer lies somewhere between “that run felt good” and getting injured.
The 38-year-old me was comfortable with 100 miles a week, and the 72-year-old me figures anything over 40 a week might prove unwise.
I’m a believer in the “listen to your body” philosophy.
If something is hurting, I back off.
I don’t want a scientific study to dictate how much I run.
Yet, recently, a Danish study was published that said I’d be healthier if I ran less – a lot less.
Let me share with you their findings.
The research conducted by the Copenhagen Heart Study and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology followed 1,098 healthy joggers and 3,950 non-joggers for about 12 years.
By the end of the study, 28 of the joggers and 128 of the non-joggers had died.
The data led to the conclusion that high-mileage runners died at the same rate as folks who just loafed on the couch.
The researchers, as they examined the data further, concluded: “although joggers as a group appear to live longer than sedentary non-joggers, light joggers and moderate joggers have lower mortality rates than sedentary non-joggers.”
What they went on to say next caught my attention as they made this point.
“Strenuous joggers – people who ran faster than 7 mph for more than four hours a week, or who ran faster than 7 mph for more than 2.5 hours a week with a frequency of more than three times a week, had a mortality rate not statistically different from that of the sedentary group.”
The data seems to say the reward for running faster than 9-minute miles leads to a death rate equal to non-runners.
The study went on to say a 5 mph-jogging pace for 1 to 2.4 hours per week, over two or three days is best for longevity.
The Copenhagen scientists did note the study participants self-reported their running habits, which may lead to error or bias.
They also wrote the 127 study participants who were identified as strenuous joggers may have been too small a group to accurately calculate mortality risk.
The Copenhagen study has been cited in the New York Times, highlighted in news segments on television and appeared in various fitness and health publications, making it inevitable you will be asked, “Is all that jogging good for you?”
I’m not normally a science denier, but if this study is true, I may drop dead on a trail run about the time another sedentary soul my age keels over on the couch. I can live with that.
To me, it’s all about the quality of life.
I look forward to the feel-good time of the day when I head out for a run.
The rhythm of moving feet going down the road, a flow of random thoughts streaming through my head and the sights and sounds of the passing scenery, as well as the emotional lift running gives me are immeasurable by science and yet vital to my well-being.
I know the Danish study says if I cut my five hours of running a week in half, I might live longer, but I wouldn’t be happier.
For me, what they call “too much running” is not enough.
I will set the science aside and continue running a distance that feels right for me at a pace I choose and suffer the consequences.