Chapter 2 - Why do we Run?

Running, one might say, is basically an absurd pastime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the type of running you need to do ... chances are you'll be able to find meaning in that other absurd pastime – life.
BILL BOWERMAN, COACH

Is there one reason?

Running means freedom, pure and simple. The 24/7 demands of modern society, emails, smartphones and social media, mean for many there is little escape from work, financial worries or advertisers preaching a message that life is just not good enough without the latest must-have gadget. And that's why, in our consumer-driven society, running has never been more popular – or more important. Running is a positive way of releasing pent-up emotions. It is cheap, accessible and, apart from basic running gear, only needs terra firma on which to run, anywhere in the world at any time. Running is pure escapism and can become addictive – if you are lucky.

The healthy option

For many the number one reason to first pull on the Lycra is health. Countless studies around the world have proven how beneficial running is in reducing blood pressure, bad cholesterol, improving heart strength and facilitating weight loss. It is one of the quickest ways to improve levels of cardiovascular fitness, especially in those runners just starting out. The fitter they become, the further and quicker they go. Those trails close to home never before ventured along will become playgrounds. Car journeys will involve new trail-spotting opportunities and noting of cemeteries with flowers – the churches tend to have outside taps, essential on a hot summer run. 'Running is my church', said the actress Joan Van Ark, although she didn't mention plumbing.

Running improves self-esteem through weight loss, goal setting and a sense of achievement. It can help concentration, beat insomnia and even improve eyesight. It can bring new friends, adventure and travel. Ordinary Joes can dream of emulating the feats of athletic superstars like Scott Jurek and Michael Johnson, or singer David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame who ran the New York City Marathon in a little over six hours. Ordinary Josephine's can follow in the same footsteps as Helene Diamantides, Liz Yelling or Sally Gunnell.

Sports such as bodybuilding might create a Charles Atlas physique, but don't go after visceral fat coating rather important organs. Even the dark art of cycling involves sitting down for, well, all of the time. Running combines the use of large muscle groups and the need to support body weight, which helps to burn fat for up to 14 hours after an average 45-minute run because of the boost it gives to the body's metabolic rate. Combine running with friends, a trip to the seaside for a 10 k run and an extra-large Mr Whippy – once the weight is off – and life can hardly get better. For the more adventurous, follow coach Bart Yasso's example (the inventor of the Yasso 800s training technique) and race on all seven continents, or Ron Hill's and compete in races in 100 countries around the world. But then Great Yarmouth is likely to be a tad cheaper.

Death and runner's knee

The certainties of the runner's life and reasons not to run, right? Far from it. There are high-profile cases where death and running have tragically collided, as we've seen with Fixx and Pheidippides. At the 1912 Olympic marathon in Stockholm, Francisco Lázaro collapsed in the race and died the next day from heatstroke. Deaths have also occurred during amateur races and, in most cases, the act of running hasn't caused the death. Clinical studies have shown that deaths in under-35s are more likely to be due to congenital heart defects and over that age to heart degeneration, such as in the case of Fixx, whose pre-running obesity and heavy smoking caught up with him.

A study over 15 years by the University of South Carolina reported a 19 per cent lower risk of death in runners compared with nonrunners. For the majority, the simple act of running can extend their mobility over sedentary people by up to 16 years, increase life spans by a whopping 6.2 years for men and 5.6 years for women, and cut the risk of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's by up to 20 per cent. While running doesn't prevent the inevitable, it can for many help to push it back for many years. No argument really.

Over the past 30 years, average marathon times have decreased in the following age brackets:

• Men aged 65–69 by an average of 15 minutes and 70–74 by 17 minutes

• Women aged 55–59 by 41 minutes and 60–64 by 16 minutes.

Non-runners invariably point to the joints of their active friends as an excuse not to take up the hobby. Injuries occur and runner's knee – or patellofemoral pain syndrome – is an occupational hazard, as are other overuse-related problems (such as the dreaded plantar fasciitis, which causes pain in the heel or bottom of the foot). In an active sport, these are to be expected, but in the longer term, runners' bone density can increase, lowering the risk of fractures. One study by the University of Missouri compared the skeletal density of runners and cyclists. It found that 63 per cent of cyclists had low mineral density in their hips and spines, compared with 19 per cent of runners. Running can help slow the speed at which muscle mass is lost by the body in the ageing process, even in those taking up the sport well into their 70s and 80s.

Participation in running events is on the increase among older runners whose knees seem equal to the task. Take Dave Sedgley of Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers, a septuagenarian who has run over a hundred marathons and continues to enter 100-mile challenge events. Alternatively, Iva Barr of Bedford Harriers, an octogenarian who first entered the London Marathon in 1982, carried the Olympic torch in 2012 and was the oldest female finisher in the 2013 London Marathon with a time of 6:37:57. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has swapped at least one bench-pressing session for a bit of roadwork of late.

Weighty issues

Born-again runners Neale and Emma Else previously weighed a combined 44 st 6 lbs. An ordinary couple from suburbia, Neale tipped the scales at 20 st 8 lbs and was heading for an early meeting with his maker – but Emma was in the lead in that race, coming in at 23 st 12 lbs. The running bug took a while to grow, as they struggled with gym equipment behind closed doors to lose enough weight before pounding the pavements. Neale began running at night when he thought no one was around. At that stage, it was just a means to an end and not the all-encompassing lifestyle that either of them could have contemplated would happen. As Neale says, 'I used to watch the London Marathon with envy and think that I could never run for so long. How wrong was I? I run to train and I run for fun and I run to enjoy a beer and a curry without feeling guilty.' In less than two years, Emma dropped to 9 st 12 lbs and Neale to 13 st 7 lbs. Both are now accomplished runners and have completed various race distances including, in Neale's case, the Milton Keynes Marathon on two occasions.

A commonly held runner's view is that for every pound of weight lost, 2 seconds per mile are saved in a marathon; 10 lbs lost can mean more than a minute quicker in a 5 k run and more than nine minutes in a marathon. The theory works for many.

Wil Graham, a contestant on the reality show The Biggest Loser, lost 8 st 7 lbs to win the show, eventually going from 29 st 6 lbs to under 15 st. Along the way, he discovered a love of running and bagged a half-marathon time of 2:20 at Reading in 2011. He needed to lose weight before he could run, but having done so he has used the sport to stop the pounds from piling back on. Graham discovered that running isn't a chore, to be undertaken for a specific goal and then forgotten. For these people and many more like them, running has changed their lives, provided new challenges and delayed them reaching the ultimate finishing line. That's one timing mat they are happy not to cross.

More sex, please, we're British

To London Marathon winners running might be their lover, but to other people running can improve their sexual health: for men, it's great for vascular health, impotence and erectile dysfunction, particularly in the over-50 age bracket, according to one Harvard study. For women, it's even better news. Israeli physician Alexander Olshanietzky said before the 1996 Olympics, 'Women get better results in sports competition after orgasm… the more orgasms, the more chances of winning a medal.' Boxer Rocky Balboa's coach might have told the champ, 'Women weaken the legs', but it's debatable how many athletes follow that advice the night before a big race. Who's right? No idea, but it's fun trying to find out.