Not a week goes by where I don’t hear something along the lines of “I don’t run because it’s bad for you.”  The individual will point to a specific “case study” of someone who died in a marathon or the death of a famous “runner” like Jim Fixx as their own personal research.

I have to admit, that while I do my best to engage the individual in a conversation of reason (ie, reminding them that Jim Fixx was a long-time smoker with heart issues before taking up running and likely extended his life span – not shortened it – through his love of running), inside I’m rolling my eyes a bit.

Start with the bones and joints (“it’s bad for my knees”).  Sorry – not shown to be true.  When done properly (ie, good shoes, form, surface and overall mechanics), the compression of running – when done at a reasonable level of mileage – actually is good for your joints.  And it’s especially good for strengthening your bones at reasonable levels.  A study looked at this years ago and found the knees of runners were actually BETTER than those of couch potatoes.  If running bothers your knees, it means something is wrong – time to go see your neighborhood Physical Therapist (one who works with runners – ask around) and then you’ll be good to go!

Then along came this study – if you have any doubts about the value of running, take a look at this link:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/ExerciseFitness/tb/10506

Incredible, isn’t it?  If you don’t want to run, that’s fine – choose something you do enjoy – and then do it regularly.  But please – don’t use silly, un-documented theories as an excuse not to do it, especially when the research is actually so very strong in the other direction.