Running for health

Running for health

FOR those of you who already belong to the club where you leap out of bed before dawn for a trot round the park with an ensuing healthy, rosy glow that gets friends and colleagues asking what your secret is, thumbs up to you.

It isn’t easy to drag one’s self from a warm bed at the crack of dawn to fit in a morning run, but here are some good reasons to give it a try.

Let’s take a look at the physical and health benefits of running first.

There is no doubt running has a load of great physical benefits. According to local sports physician and marathon runner Dr William Chan, running is one of the most effective ways to lose weight and tone up.

Runners get a great cardiovascular workout which is fantastic for the heart and lungs, allowing a person to burn an average of 70 to 80 calories for each kilometre run. Of course the number of calories burnt depends on your weight, fitness level and running pace.


Local sports physician and marathon runner Dr William Chan: ‘Running helps lower blood pressure by maintaining the elasticity of the arteries.’
Running also helps reduce body fat, thus allowing for an increase in lean muscle. Compared to other popular activities, such as biking and walking, running burns far more calories.

Dr Chan explains that whilst the average human being burns about 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day by simply existing, running 5km a day can burn an additional 350 to 400 calories, making weight loss a natural result.

Regular runners also claim that the activity suppresses appetite so you would feel less inclined to eat after a good exercise. But it is also a fact that whilst beginners lose weight quickly at first, the body soon gets used to the workouts and the weight stabilises after an initial period.

Losing weight is just one of the obvious health benefits. Unseen health benefits prove to be a form of motivation as well.

“Running helps lower blood pressure by maintaining the elasticity of the arteries. Whilst running, the arteries expand and contract more than usual, which keeps them elastic and the blood pressure low,” says Dr Chan.

It is a fact that many serious runners have unusually low blood pressure. Running also helps maximise the lungs’ potential, as it keeps them strong and powerful. While deep breaths force the lungs to use more tissue, the 50% of normally unused lung potential is utilised.

Running also serves to strengthen the heart and helps prevent heart attacks. The large muscle exercise it provides helps keep the cardio system efficient and strong. In fact, the heart of an inactive person beats 36,000 more times each day than that of a runner, as running keeps the arteries open and the blood flowing smoothly.


Running makes you healthy, but can it also make you happy?

According to Avanti Kumar, author of the recently published The Science of Happiness, it can!

“In these times of increasing turmoil, it’s crucial to make moments for both internal and external aerobics. The opportunity to do good things on both an inner and outer level needs to be grasped. While you run, your big dreams will come back to you.

“Try to use your run as a session to meditate and you will find that while running, plans will form, even while the blood races around your body. When you’ve finished your run, put these plans into action,” says Kumar.

The effect of happiness that running has on your body comes from endorphins, which are powerful hormone-like substances produced in the brain that function as the body’s own natural painkillers. During exercise, there is a release of endorphins in the body that are capable of producing feelings of euphoria and a general state of well-being. The feelings produced can be so powerful that they can actually mask pain.

Proving the point, Newton Yap from Runners Malaysia says: “Running is intoxicating in a good way unlike alcohol or cigarette addiction. When the endorphins course through my veins, I get ‘high’ but without the hangover. Running calms and cleanses what even the best drug or sedative and soaps cannot get at – the mind, heart and soul. Satisfaction guaranteed almost every time I do it.

“Running keeps me sane in this insane world. Running makes me want to be a better person. Running is living.”

This article was contributed by Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009. This article was published in The Star online on 29th Apr 2009