Running the wrong way
BIOLOGIST DEMOLISHES EIGHT MYTHS ABOUT JOGGING
As we emerge from COVID restrictions, many of us are struggling to get back into shape and lose unwanted pounds. For some, that means lacing up their shoes and heading out for a jog. Yet for every runner, plenty of others are literally “exercised” about running — that is, vexed, anxious, or tired of hearing that we are born to run, that running is the best kind of exercise and the secret to health and happiness. Apart from being uncomfortable, isn’t running ruinous for knees? Doesn’t it sometimes kill people? Isn’t running an ineffective or useless way to lose weight?
Why is something so normal and natural the cause of so much confusion? I think the root of the problem is that the modern world has transformed how we use and think about our bodies, even in terms of ordinary pursuits like running.
The truth is we really did evolve to run. Well, sometimes. Humans evolved mostly to walk, but our ancestors occasionally ran long distances at a moderate pace to get dinner; they also ran when they played, and every once in a while they sprinted to avoid being someone else’s dinner.
Running is our most fundamental form of vigorous physical activity, made possible by dozens of amazing corporeal adaptations — from our heads to our toes — that enable ordinary humans to be superlative distance runners compared with most animals.
So, if you are contemplating running but feeling exercised about it, let’s debunk a few common myths to help
you be less of a runophobe and perhaps even a runophile.
MYTH 1: RUNNING IS BAD FOR YOUR KNEES
People mistakenly think too much running will wear out the cartilage in their knees — causing osteoarthritis — just like too much driving wears out a car’s shock absorbers. In fact, gold-standard studies show that runners are no more likely to develop knee osteoarthritis than non-runners, and that running helps to protect your joints.
MYTH 2: RUNNING IS THE BEST KIND OF EXERCISE
How can there be any best kind of exercise when each of us has a different body, abilities and health concerns? Study after study shows that any amount of physical activity is better than none at all, and that we benefit from a mix of aerobic
and strength activities, especially as we age. The key is to move.
MYTH 3: RUNNERS CAN EAT WHAT THEY WANT
This is a dangerous myth. Running confers many health benefits, but you can’t run away from a bad diet. Runners who consume lots of processed food such as pizza, chips and fizzy drinks are also vulnerable to heart disease, metabolic syndromes and other lifestyle-induced ailments such as type 2 diabetes. Even if you are not gaining weight, these foods slowly damage your body. The problem is that the effects of unhealthy diets take years to show up, and by then it’s too late.
MYTH 4: RUNNING IS USELESS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Some experts discount running and other kinds of exercise as useless for weight loss. The explanation is that
exercise doesn’t burn much energy and just makes people hungry and tired, so they compensate by eating and resting. The reality is not so simple. While people can lose more weight faster by dieting, studies show that moderate levels of exercise (300 minutes or more a week) can lead to gradual weight loss. Even more importantly, exercise helps to prevent weight gain and regain.
MYTH 5: YOU SHOULD RUN IN SUPPORTIVE SHOES, OR BAREFOOT
Everyone is confused by the many options and opinions out there about shoes, including the supposed risks and benefits of not wearing shoes. Relax! Yes, we did evolve to run barefoot and it can be fun, but shoes are comfortable and they protect your feet. In my opinion, what matters most is not what’s on your feet but how you run. However, what’s on your feet can affect this. So if your shoes aren’t working properly, consider switching slowly and gradually to something different. And learn to run properly: don’t lean too much, take about 170-180 steps a minute, land gently with your ankle below your knee with a relatively flat foot, and relax.
MYTH 6: YOU CAN EITHER BE A TORTOISE OR A HARE
If elite sprinters like Usain Bolt could maintain their 100-metre pace for a marathon, they’d finish in slightly over an hour; in contrast, elite marathoners cover 26.2 miles in about two hours. But contrary to widespread opinion, that trade-off between speed and endurance does not apply to the rest of us. In general, people who can run faster can also run farther.
MYTH 7: TOO MUCH RUNNING CAN KILL YOU
Ever heard that old chestnut about the Greek messenger Pheidippides who died after running the first marathon after the Battle of Marathon? In reality, the oldest account of the story, by Herodotus, never mentions the messenger dying. That fiction was added 300 years later by the satirist Lucian, and then romanticized in 1879 by the poet Robert Browning.
MYTH 8: JUST DO IT
Some runophobes think that running is so normal that people naturally leap out of bed and run long distances just for fun without any special effort. Don’t fall for this because, although running is salubrious, it’s also challenging and costs energy. People generally run only when it is necessary or rewarding.