Why you should start running?

If you’ve never run a step, you may wonder if you should try. The answer, for so many reasons, is yes. Running delivers myriad health benefits for body and mind.

Running is one of those sports you can pick up at any point, at any skill level and you won't even need any special gear either – although some is recommended for added comfort, like the best running shoes, a good running watch and some running headphones wouldn't hurt either. To help convince you, here are five reasons why you should start running.

Running regularly has a range of benefits, including improved physical and mental health, but it can also make you sleep better and some studies suggest it can improve your memory, too. Whether the last statement is true or not, running certainly has more benefits than drawbacks, and if you embark on the journey of becoming a runner, you won't regret it, on the contrary.

Once you started running, you will see and feel the benefits of it very soon. It is easy for runners to lose weight fast, but on top of that, running can also help you maintain weight loss easier, unlike 'just' going on a diet, for example.

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TRY RUNNING

You can just go for a run at any point during the day, especially if you are not doing a tempo session. Saying that, stretching before and especially after your runs is recommended, to loosen up the muscles a bit. Get a foam roller or another massage tool, they are fairly inexpensive but work great nevertheless.

Also, after your runs, drink some water to replace the water that left your body through sweating. If you are going for longer runs – anything around or over an hour – take some water with you using a reusable water bottle. We don't want to further pollute the environment with single use plastics.

Eating right is also important when it comes to running and in general, too. Try not to eat anything half an hour prior to your run, but ideally leave an hour this. After your runs, especially if you went for a longer run, consider eating or drinking something with high protein content, let it be protein snacks, protein powder, shake or just some nuts and fruit.

1. RUNNING WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY

Everyone has heard of the runner's high, this feeling of euphoria that runners experience when they devour the miles. Exercising – and running in particular – releases endorphins in your body which will make you feel happier. Endorphins are natural pain relievers and its release in the body is an evolutionary response to different forms of stress, one of these being long-distance running.

If you haven't tried running before, don't imagine runner's high as being under the influence of drugs. You won't find running easier because of it but you will have a feeling that you wouldn't mind doing it again, immediately after you finished running.

The more you run, the more often you will feel this and the more endorphin will be released in your body, making you a more balanced and happier person overall.

2. RUNNING WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT FASTER AND MAINTAIN WEIGHT EASIER

Kind of an obvious one next: running – being a cardio exercise – can effectively help you lose weight fast. It's pretty simple, when you run, you spend a lot of energy moving your body forward, which burns more calories, which in turn will help you lose weight fast.

3. RUNNING WILL MAKE YOUR BONES STRONGER

There is a lesser known law called Wolfe's Law, which states that if you put your bones under stress, they will regenerate to be stronger in response to this stress. Running does in fact put pressure on your bones and therefore, by running regularly, your bones will get stronger, too.

This will only be true, however, if you improve your diet as well as go for regular runs. Poor diet and exercising can actually make your bones weaker and can also result in the loss of muscle mass. At the end of the day, you are what you eat and if you want a healthy body, you will have to feed it healthy foodstuff.

Avoid processed food – especially fast food – and introduce more fibrous items into your diet, especially vegetables.

In summary: running will improve your bone health, but only if you eat right and supply your body with the right nutrients.

4. RUNNING WILL IMPROVE YOUR CARDIO HEALTH

This, again, is one of the more well-known benefits of running. Running regularly will improve your heart-health as well as your circulation. What does this mean?

From the National Center for Biotechnology Information: "[Running] is a highly aerobic activity that utilises both fatty acids and carbohydrates for energy. The typical runner tends to have a slow resting pulse rate and a high maximal oxygen consumption".

Running will change your body (in a good way) and especially your heart, and will make you more efficient with your energy expenditure overall. Your heart will become more resilient and you will be less prone to illnesses.

5. RUNNING CAN IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH

Increased physical activity can improve your sleep quality significantly. It does this by tiring your body out more and also by reducing stress levels. This will make you sleep better and spend more time in deep sleep which will also make you less stressed overall.

As you can see, once you started the process, exercising regularly can have a snowball-effect on your health, let it be physical or mental. All it needs is a bit of a push and you to get moving. Once that's done, you will find more energy not just for running, but for other activities in your life too, which again will further improve your health, even in short term.

RUNNING CHANGED MY LIFE, I AM SURE IT CAN CHANGE YOURS TOO!!

There's something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul!

- KRISTIN ARMSTRONG

Fig 1: This view is a sample of the pure, magical, extraordinary joy you can feel when you are running. Race: 10th of July - Spilia Trail Run (9km)