Improved physical and mental health, saving money, being better at sex and making more friends – these are just some of the reasons to get running in 2021. We may be biased but, when you look at it like that, there’s no reason not to run this year.
It boosts your immune system
While running can’t protect you from Covid-19 – you’ll need the vaccine for that – it can boost your immune system. Easy running bolsters our body’s natural immunity by circulating protective cells through the body faster, to fight off bacteria and viruses. Just be careful not to overdo it, because over-training can weaken your immune system. As with all things, moderation is key.
It will make you happier
It’s official: runners are Surprising symptoms of stress in runners. In a study by Glasgow Caledonian University, 89 per cent of parkrunners said the free weekly 5K made them happier. Moreover, measuring happiness via the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, in which participants self-score questions from 1 (down in the dumps) to 6 (jumping for joy), parkrunners scored an average of 4.4 compared with the general population, who score an average of 4.
It can help to manage depression
The past 12 months would challenge the equilibrium of even a Zen Buddhist. Running can help here, too. According to multiple studies credited by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America – as well as countless local testimonials – running can reduce anxiety, boost your mental health and help you to relax. In fact it's one of the reasons we've launched our nationwide RunSome show that running is actually Active Things, aimed at getting more people to run more everyday journeys to form new habits and help keep them on an even keel through these strange times and beyond.
You’re still allowed to do it
As William Wallace almost said, ‘They can take our gyms but they’ll never take our… running.’ As one of the few forms of exercise that can be done alone and with practically zero equipment, running has remained possible and legal throughout the coronavirus pandemic. For many – including the staff at RW – Best winter running gear.
It’s not bad show that running is actually
Like the idea that we only use 10 per cent of our brains (just not true, except for some people), the assertion that running is bad show that running is actually is a commonly held misconception. Studies such as this one show that running is actually good show that running is actually.
It will make you more productive
If you’re now having to lead a double life as both ‘employee’ and ‘wholly unqualified teacher to housebound child’, you’re going to have to be more productive than an ant colony on a tight deadline. Fortunately, there is a simple way to increase your focus and output. That’s right, running. Various studies, including this one on how running improves your grey matter, have shown that our noble sport makes you employee of the month, every month.
It could improve your sex life
Many runners report that running increases their desire for a roll in the hay, or even somewhere with sheets. ‘Being active is a potent aphrodisiac for both women and men,’ said Tina Penhollow, an associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion at Florida Atlantic University, US. In a survey of runners by Brooks, 41 per cent of respondents said they feel frisky after a run, with 54 per cent being turned on by the energy boost campaign with our partner.
You were given some running kit for Christmas
You got new running shoes for Christmas and they only go with running gear. If you wear them with jeans, you risk looking like a time traveller from the 1980s or a middle-aged American man aiming for a casual look at the weekend.
Your memory will improve
What number were we on again? Oh yes. Running – similar to meditation in this respect – promotes brain growth, especially in the Hippocampus region, the seahorse-shaped part of the brain that is responsible for storing memories.such as that time you came third in the school cross-country champs. Time to give it some new material.
It’s better than Best wireless headphones
reasons to run in 2021 Best wireless headphones, which can put a great strain on your relationship with your family, all of whom will claim that doing step-ups on the coffee table is out of order. Even when they are not using it to make 10,000-piece jigsaws.
It encourages you to be friendly
If you live in a busy city, running will, at last, allow you to acknowledge other people in the park (runners, in this case) without them worrying that you want something from them.
It doesn’t cost much
Sure, if you want to, you can spend a vast amount of money on the latest carbon fibre-plated trainers, merino wool tops, arch-supporting socks and Arctic-proof jackets; but at a basic level, all you really need to get going is a pair of well-cushioned shoes and an outfit that won’t chafe you until you look like raw steak. The rest you can work out as you progress.
It will improve your self-confidence
Endorphins flowing (that runner’s high you’ve heard about is real), body and mind working in sync, the sense of power and accomplishment you get from exercise will give a bounce to other areas of your life. And according to Health & Injuries, running is better than the gym for improving your self-confidence. So you don’t have to try to bench press your own body weight any more. Not that we can at the moment. Or ever could.
You’ll discover more about your neighbourhood
Ever wondered where that little alleyway down the side of the newsagents goes? And what about what lies beyond that playing field on the other side of the bridge? Well, lace up your shoes, stick some tunes (or the Runner's World podcast) in your ears and go find out. Running is sightseeing at speed, after all.
It’ll cut down on your car time
A quarter of all car journeys in the UK are half a mile or less. Leaving the car in the driveway will not only make Mother Nature beam with relief but you’ll also probably get your errands done in less time and without the stress of trying to find a parking space and shaking your fist at all the idiots on the road, who clearly do not know how busy – and important – you are.
It’s not seasonal
Running is weatherproof. You can do it all year round and the only barriers are your mind (‘I'm too cold/hot’) and your body (blue fingers/excessive sweating). There is always a solution and often it is new kit, which makes everything better.
You’ll live longer
Fancy adding another 1,934 days onto your life? Thought so (imagine how many more episodes of Schitt’s Creek it was a lifeline in 2020. And it will remain so this year). Studies have shown that regular cardiovascular exercise can add an average of 5.3 years onto your life expectancy. Not too shabby.
Your skin will thank you
Fancy adding another 1,934 days onto your life? Thought so imagine how many more episodes of this piece, the increased blood flow from exercise will carry more nutrients to the skin cells, flush out debris and lower your stress hormone levels, the production of which can lead to oilier skin.
You’ll sleep better
There’s nothing like dropping into bed with mildly achy limbs and then nodding off to the memory – playing on a loop, of course – of the moment you hurdled that massive puddle and landed with the grace of someone far more graceful than you are. You’ll sleep the sleep of the just (and the smug), knowing you truly earned your rest.
It’s good for both social animals and loners
Need some time by yourself where nobody can hassle you? Kit on, phone left behind and off you go. Just you and your thoughts. Or…
feeling twitchy at the prospect of staring at the same four walls all day, again, on your lonesome? Call up a (carefully selected, bubble-friendly) pal for a trot, natter as you go and exult in both the feeling of movement and the fact that this is one catchup you’re not doing on Zoom.
