3 Myths—and 1 Truth—About Running and Health

by Katherine Hobson

Every person who takes up running has, at one time or another, been confronted by a helpful critic who is more than happy to reel off the reasons running will ruin your life. It will cripple you in your later years; you might drop dead in the middle of a marathon; and on and on. As an avid runner, I have a lot riding on whether or not these ideas about the sport are true. Here is a look at four questionable claims about running and health, including results from a new study looking at running, longevity, and disability.

1. Running will give you a heart attack or other heart problems. It is true that exercise temporarily raises the odds of a heart attack while you're mid-workout, but doing it consistently reduces that risk over the long haul, leading to a net benefit. Some researchers have questioned whether marathon running, especially in people who haven't trained a lot, might cause heart damage, at least temporarily. But there's no evidence that it causes long-term harm or actually leads to heart attacks. Even athletes with enlarged hearts—if they're healthy hearts—aren't, as once feared, at risk of early death. The bottom line: Simply going for a run most days of the week is doing far more good than bad for your heart.

2. Running will ruin your bones and joints. A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found no evidence of accelerated rates of osteoarthritis among long-distance runners when compared with healthy nonrunners. "We used to say that osteoarthritis came from wear and tear. That's now revised to say that is can result from tear but not wear," says James Fries, emeritus professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. Moreover, weight-bearing exercise like running helps stave off osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density.

3. Running can increase your odds of skin cancer. This one appears to be true: A 2006 study found that white marathon runners had more abnormal moles and lesions than nonrunners and were at a higher risk of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer. (Marathoner Deena Kastor, representing the United States in the Olympics, has had skin cancers removed.) The more miles run per week, the more likely a runner in the study was to be referred for surgical treatment, suggesting the length of sun exposure is a factor. The solutions: Wear sunscreen, no matter what time of day you run. (Only 56 percent of the runners in the study used sunscreen.) Don't run when the sun is strongest—go early in the morning or later in the afternoon or evening. And cover up if you can, by wearing a hat and protecting as much of your skin with clothing as you can stand.

4. Running will kill you before your time. According to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, running and other vigorous exercise in middle age is associated with a longer life. Not only that, it will make your later years more pleasant by reducing disability. After tracking runners and healthy nonrunners for 21 years, starting when they were at least 50 years old, a research team led by Stanford's Fries found that the ability to perform activities of daily life like getting out of a chair and walking was better among runners than nonrunners. And 19 years into the study, 15 percent of the runners had died, compared with 34 percent of the nonrunners.

Deep Tissue Massage

Having been in physical therapy the last four weeks, I went for a deep tissue massage today. Man, this guy played on my ITB band and the muscles like playing the veena... Has loosened some rock-like muscles and a knot on my thigh....

Hope it speedens the recovery process.. for now it is paining so much that I am standing in ice-cold water...!

SF Marathon!

Some 'public' pics from the SF Marathon this Sunday, Aug 3, 2008. I did not run.. I just went to cheer my friends that did!





And for those that think I missed their picture, here is yours as a group!!! ;-)

Preparations for running...

After a month of trying different things, I am finally getting physical therapy for my knees. Second week into the therapy now and it is feeling much better. I have been off running these two weeks..

Working on strengthening my gluteal muscles and getting electro-massage to loosen my ITB.. iliotibial band that runs on the outside of the thighs.. Man, I've started learning biology and human physiology all over again..

Hey.. I want to start running sooner :-)

The Fun - Snapshots

Thanks to Vamsi, here are some snapshots of the fun that is marathon training!!!

Snapshots from the field!!

The fun continues...

Why Marathon & Why Asha?

TEAM ASHA is a premier endurance sports program that trains people for half and full marathons. Team Asha gives one the chance to discover not only the magical benefits of running but also the supreme joy of affecting the life of a child with every progressive step.

Since 2000, they have trained more than 750 marathoners from different walks of life. 99% of them successfully completed a full or a half marathon. Train. Run. Educate.

Asha for Education is a non-profit organization on a mission to catalyze socio-economic change in India through education of under-privileged children. Of the 68 Asha chapters worldwide, three are right here in the San Francisco Bay Area: Asha Berkeley, Asha Stanford and Asha Silicon Valley.

Over the years, Asha has succeeded in touching the lives of thousands of children through its various educational initiatives and projects. Although the primary focus is on education, Asha also addresses issues affecting human life such as health care, environmental concerns and women's issues. Asha will continue to evolve in keeping with the needs of the hour and the needs of our country (India).

Asha for education is run by a diverse group of committed volunteers who take personal interest in researching and identifying worthy projects in India. We mobilize the needed funds and also work closely with the projects right from inception to realization.
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My grandmom used to say "Whenever you get a chance to share your knowledge or better still, help somebody learn - do that. That is the best gift you can give to not just him but his entire family. And it is equivalent to feeding 100 hungry persons." I think Asha embodies that spirit.

One of my school friends, who later went on to BITS Pilani and then to Univ of Wisconsin - Madison for her MS - she was one such volunteers who came back to India and was handling some of their educational initiatives in South India. (I am trying to reach her.. Lets see if I can find out what she is upto now.)

That is how I had heard about Asha. And now, in the bay area, I heard of Asha again and I took this opportunity to be a drop in the ocean. I am a part of Team Asha 2008 - training for the Chicago marathon on Oct 12th, 2008.

Like I said, education is the best gift I can give to anyone, especially the underprivileged child. And I am willing to go any distance in fulfilling that child's dream. I am willing to go 26.2 miles this year.

Kudos to Asha.. Kudos to Hope.

Inching forward - a 9-miler!!

Another couple of 'firsts' to record for my last weekend run (Saturday, 7/5) - the first time I was running at the Sawyer Camp Trail in San Mateo/San Bruno... It is so beautiful.. the trail runs around a lake surrounded by hills and for the most part, you can run in the shade of the hills and trees.

For the 'first' time, I was running with my own fuel - fuel belts are an important part of any long-distance running gear. I should put up a pic of me in the fuel belts.. they are like two pistol holsters on a belt that you tie around your waist - Actually, two bottles in pouches on the belt - one for water and another for Gatorade or some such electrolyte/sports drink (suit yourself!)

And for the first time, I was to touch double-digit mileage. The suggested target was 10 miles for the Chicago Marathoners of my kind (first-timers). But, with my knee just about getting back to shape, I was skeptical if I would even run two. Anyway, after the warm-up run and the stretching, I started my run.. fully armed (water and Gatorade :) and at my own pace. I decided to do a series of one mile runs interspersed with half a mile walks. After some false alarms at mile two, I could complete nine miles in less than two and half hours.

I am pretty happy with my first 9-miler and I know it can only get better!!

Thanks to Parag - Some pics of the beautiful trail.. Hey, look at the fuel belt!!