The benefits of distance running for midlifers
A recent article in the Daily Telegraph considers how our Knee Study offers some positive messages for midlifers looking to take up running.
If you’re over 35 and thinking about how best to get and stay fit, running is a great choice. It gets you outside, you can do it at any point of the day, and has been proven to improve your mental health.
In recent years it’s become even easier to get into running and jogging, thanks to free apps like Couch to 5K. But is this type of exercise good for your body? Does running damage your joints?
Our Knee Study answers this with a resounding ‘no’ - even for marathon runners. In fact, we were amazed to find that people that had certain damage to their knee joint at the start of their marathon training, displayed significant improvement in the health of their joints having completed the race.
So, in a nutshell, distance running actively improves your knees, rather than damaging them. We’re now conducting the same research on the hip joint.
The Daily Telegraph recently ran an article on our findings, together with some additional medical research into blood pressure. This fascinating article concludes that not only is running good for your joints, but it actively reduces blood pressure and the health of the arteries.
In short, then, running in mid life delivers many health benefits - muscle toning, cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, healthier knees and lower blood pressure. It’s enough to make anyone step into their trainers.
The NHS is actively encouraging us to run too, with its own Couch to 5K programme. And, now that we know that distance running is so good for us, there’s no reason to stop at 5K.
