Benefits of Running

            Staying fit has become a priority for me. Given the lack of time I have today and the high cost of health club memberships, I have turned to running. Requiring only shirt, shorts, and shoes, running is one of the least-expensive and least complicated sports. Running rewards me positively because of its physical, social, and psychological effects.
             The most obvious rewards I get from running are physical. Running at least thirty minutes five or six times a week helps me maintain my weight, keeping my blood pressure low, and strengthen my heart and lungs. Running just thirty minutes at a moderate pace, I burn anywhere from 400 to 500 calories. Since the heart is a muscle, exercising makes it work more efficiently resulting in a lower resting heart rate. Running also improves my breathing by getting more oxygen into the lungs and into my blood. As a result, my body uses its fuel (food) more efficiently, helping me to maintain my ideal weight of 168-210 pounds. Running as a regular exercise program improves my over-all fitness and health, allowing me to fully enjoy my other activities, like basketball and swimming. A regular program of running may prolong my life.
             Though less obvious than the physical effects, running also provides social rewards, as well. As I go to the track in the late afternoons, I find many other people there for their daily run. They come from all walks of life, professions, and age groups. Meeting and talking about running, as well as my daily work activities, are things I do while running. During an evening run, I have started many new friendships, and have even seen romance bloom for other people. Meeting people with similar interests serve as an incentive to show up to run. Seeing someone twice my age run better than I can also serves as an incentive to try harder or aim for more consistency. Now I have a desire to enter local races to see how well I do in competition with people my own age.