When friends, family, and even my girlfriend will ask me how long my training runs are, their almost immediate response usually is, “Wow! You’re crazy!”
It only gets worse when I tell them how long I run on a Long Run Day. I think because they are better able to process time than distance. When you tell them you've run for 32 km this morning is different than telling them that you've been running for 3.30 hours without stopping. Then they just lay into you.
Insane, crazy, foolish, mental, looney, cuckoo, nutty, the list goes on. And sometimes it just gets longer and longer.
How many times my mental state has been called into question? Just because of the distance that I run. I must admit that it has led me to think about it: do i need to seek professional help (as so many of my friends have joked). I hate to admit it but it does passes my mind. Usually when I can't stand in the shower without my legs trembling. Yet, also what I think of is not my insanity, but my friends.
I think to myself.... Hey.... Damnit!....
I’m not crazy! YOU... You non-runners
are
the
crazy
ones.
You are crazy!
Running, no matter your skill level, pace or past experience, makes you feel good. I have written about how natural it is and one of the most basic of human physical activities. And let's think about it ...what other natural action makes you feel such tranquility on a 12-miler in the heat or in the rain? Running gives you strength, peace, happiness, confidence, and enlightenment. I don’t know why there aren’t more people out there using running to feel better instead of resorting to unhealthy traps like over eating, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, etc. And that leads me to those who call me crazy. Those who somehow think that that sense of tranquility is found in a pizza or cigarettes or cocaine.
That's just crazy!
Harvard studies in the last 10 years found that runners, even those who run moderately, have sharper minds for longer in life than non-runners. Runners have stronger, more efficient, longer lasting bodies. Runners fall sick less often to the common cold and other respiratory illnesses than the non-runners, even though runners routinely spend hours outside in less than perfect conditions. The average runner will live 3 years longer than a non-runner. Runners are some of the most peaceful people, even though they constantly compete with themselves and others. The average runner, according to Running.org, is:
College-educated: Today’s core runners are highly educated with 79% having earned a college diploma, compared with only 27% of the United States population.
Affluent: These runners are affluent with 73% of those surveyed reporting a Household Income of more than $75,000, well above the U.S. median household income of $52,175.
Active Participants: Core runners are active participants who train year round, reporting running / jogging an average of 224 days and logging 1,357 miles per year, a significant difference compared with the typical fitness runner / jogger who runs approximately 85 days per year.
Finally, most important to me, anytime I run, regardless of the pace, I always feel better afterwards. I feel better about myself, my problem, my life, my work, everything.
But, instead of running, a majority of people prefer to be on the computer all day, playing video games, not being active and becoming wildly unhealthy. 28 U.S. states continue their decades-long weight gain. Two thirds of Americans are now either overweight (defined as a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher) or obese (A 30-plus BMI). A few more stats about Americans fitness levels:
Obesity is the #2 cause of preventable death in the United States
60 million Americans, 20 years and older are obese
9 million children and teens ages 6-19 are overweight
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of health conditions and diseases including: Breast cancer, Coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes, Sleep apnea, Gallbladder disease, Osteoarthritis, Colon cancer, Hypertension and Stroke
For statistics can be found here.
As we have seen so many times, these people have health issues as a result of their poor choices. As the couch potatoes become lazier and lazier, runners become healthier and healthier and over time they continuing to feel powerful and more energetic. What’s so crazy about wanting to feel healthy, about having more energy, live longer, live better?
It’s a natural movement for human beings to search for empowerment, be it through knowledge, job title, annual salary, physical dominance, etc. Running is the most natural, easiest way to be empowered. I see it on every face I run by, be they old or young or newbie or experienced. It is the one superpower we possess, yet seldom use. Self-empowerment! As explained in Chris McDougall’s book, Born to Run, the human body is designed to run long distances. But instead of training for endurance events, our culture tells us that running long distances is asinine, extreme and foolish. It is a culture that denies our basic evolutionary potential. A potential that maxes out our mind and body. It is a crazy, and criminal, culture that would allow us to become so complacent. Complacent and unhealthy.
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