“Start running.” 

The sound of sneakers squeaking begins to fill up the room as the quiet dissipates. In the front, some students race each other to reach the end with their feet slamming loudly onto the gym floor. In the back, the majority of students are slowly jogging, or rather briskly walking. The gym fills with breathless pants as students run laps around it during every class period. 

Running is not exactly everyone’s type of ‘fun.’ It causes a lack of breath, energy, and lots of sweat, while also triggering muscle cramps and side stitches. I’d rather sit on a bench and enjoy a nice day out with an ice cream cone than running in the sweltering sun just to burn some calories. 

Even though the activity causes severe exhaustion and is extremely uncomfortable, it is beneficial for the body. I mean, there’s a reason why people are willing to suffer in the summer heat all for a quick run. 

Why is Running Difficult?

The human body is almost perfectly sculpted for the exercise. Our bodies contain the right cooling system, muscles, and coordination for humans to succeed. Humans can outlast most of the animal kingdom on foot. It is quite hard to believe because running three miles with no training is physically exhausting. But what makes running so hard?

Our body reacts a certain way when we start running to maintain homeostasis, the body’s ability to regulate itself and manipulate biological processes in order to maintain a stable internal environment. The moment our muscles activate, energy or adenosine triphosphate (ATP), is released so that your body can run. Through aerobic respiration, the intake of oxygen helps to produce energy for the body to consume while running. Oxygen leads the reaction in producing energy for our body, but what if we don’t gain enough of it? Without oxygen, energy quickly diminishes. Not only do your muscles grow tired, they can also become fatigued and sore. The inflammation and soreness you feel after a run is due to the excessive use of muscles which can cause microtears. These tears don’t cause extreme pain or damage to our muscles, but are actually a stepping stone to making them stronger. The small tears on our muscles heal over time and develop stronger muscles, which is what really influences your progress. 

As well as producing energy, the muscles produce heat, causing our body temperature to rise. In response to the spike in temperature, our body releases sweat in an attempt to cool down overheated muscles. 

Endurance is difficult. It’s easy to run for three minutes, but what about half an hour? What makes running even more challenging, above physical endurance, is the mental discipline to even run in the first place.

Running For Life

Remember those sore and throbbing muscles you accumulate after a long run? They actually get stronger over time as running activates every big and small muscle in your body. Every muscle will start to become defined as they grow. 

Remember how you would lose your breath and slow down? After consistently running for even a week, you’ll be running longer distances at faster speeds as you build endurance. These are only a few physical effects of running, many of which help our bodies in less visible ways than building muscle mass. 

Running is an endurance based activity, often referred to as cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise. The word cardio comes from the Greek word kardíā, meaning heart. Knowing this, we can infer that running is an exercise that targets the heart. Running and jogging are great exercises to strengthen your cardiac muscles, the muscles surrounding the heart, and the organ itself. As the heart gets stronger, it requires less energy and oxygen to pump the same amount of blood throughout the body. This leads to a lower resting heart rate where the heart undergoes less strain and tension to keep blood circulating in our body. A stronger heart is essential in preventing heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. 

Running not only activates the larger muscle groups and organs in our body, it also works out every single bit of our muscles. Inside every big or small muscle are groups of smaller muscle fibers, which are bundled up together to form fascicles. Each fascicle contains a variety of slow and fast twitch fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers use energy throughout a longer period of time and contract more slowly, causing them to fatigue at a slower rate. They contain a higher density of myoglobin—a protein which supplies our muscles with oxygen—and mitochondria, the organelle of the cell that produces energy for the cell, and blood vessels. These components of slow twitch muscle fibers allow our body to endure long periods of exercise and low-intensity activities.

Fast twitch fibers are the complete opposite. Instead of slowly using energy, they consume huge bursts of energy at a time, and instead of slowly fatiguing, they fatigue more quickly. High intensity movements, such as weight lifting and sprints, primarily activate our fast twitch fibers, consuming most of our energy in just a few minutes, or even seconds.

Running and jogging long distances can enhance our slow twitch muscle fibers, while sprinting can strengthen our fast twitch ones. You can adjust your movements to achieve the desired result. The strengthening of these types of muscles supports our cardiovascular system, which is beneficial for the long-run.

How to Start

The idea of becoming active and running everyday can easily take over our thoughts. Wake up early in the morning. Eat a granola bar. Rush out the door to run five miles. As much as we dream of this lifestyle, it’s not that easy. Waking up before the sunrise is hard enough, and running in the dark isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing when you can’t even see ten feet in front of you. So how do we combat this challenge? 

Start with small goals and slowly level up. Don’t change your whole lifestyle, schedule, and diet attempting to live an ‘athletic lifestyle.’ The toughest part of the journey is starting. After one day, your muscles are going to be sore, and even a ten minute jog can be physically exhausting. Start with small goals to maintain your motivation. If the end goal is to run a marathon, start by training for a 5k, then a 10k, and then lowly increase your goals upon achieving them. Smaller goals are easier and more likely to be achieved with consistent training compared to attempting the 26.2 mile finale right from the start. 

Finding a running partner or group can help boost morale as well. Running solo allows your self-doubts to take over and makes you believe ‘I can’t do this,’ when really you can. Running in a group of people encourages you to keep going even when you’re tired. With company, you’re encouraged to keep going and maintain a certain pace. It’s still challenging, but it’s more fun with friends.

Another important tip for running is to stretch beforehand. Many forget the necessity of stretching before any type of exercise. However, working with cold and stiff muscles is not going to get you anywhere, and can lead to injury. Warm them up with dynamic stretches and short exercises. 

In the same vein, rest days are necessary. If you can’t feel your legs the day after a long run, then it’s a sign to take a break. Taking care of your health and muscles is your first priority when training. If your muscles are stiff or something hurts, instead of going on another long run, opt for a day full of stretching and mobility exercises. 

Don’t forget that you can change up the schedule. You don’t have to run on the treadmill for hours at the gym. Instead, alternate the scenery. Try running around a park or a short trip around your neighborhood. Not only will there be a fresh breeze to help cool you down, you’ll be more aware of the hidden gems nearby. Frequent runs will be less boring when there is more room for exploration. You should also choose the best time for your schedule and your body to run. Waking up at five a.m. to run in the dark isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Instead, find the right time that allows you to get even a short ten to fifteen minute run in. 

Ignore the numbers. Fixating your attention on the time or your pace will only distract you from enjoying the run itself. Aim to run longer instead of faster at first. Running too fast might lead to exhaustion and shorter runs. It is best to maintain the pace that will allow you to keep going, but not feel like your whole body is shutting down; this may require trial and error to test different speeds out. Also, don’t be afraid of pausing your run for a quick breath or a short walk. It allows your body to take a break and lessen the fatigue accumulated by your muscles.

Finally, don’t shrink your portions! Running is one of the most effective cardio exercises and burns off the most amount of calories in a period of time. After a run, your body is fighting to survive with the little amount of calories you consumed before. Make sure to fuel your body at most an hour or two before and after the run. Fueling your body for the run will further energize you throughout the day and aid in muscle recovery and building. 

Adding more healthy meals and snacks throughout the day could help you in the long run. Focus on incorporating healthy carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into your diet. Some great fuel before a run are fruits, such as bananas and berries, fatty fish, such as salmon or tuna, and eggs. I recommend incorporating protein and carbohydrates in all meals and making sure to eat enough carbohydrates especially after your run. 

Hydration is key. Your diet and nutrition is important, but don’t forget about the water that is essential for your body to even function. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids and water to rehydrate your body after a long period of sweating. Water prevents heat exhaustion, heat strokes, and cramps, so be sure to incorporate sips here and there during your run. Water is replenishing, but also does wonders for the development of your muscles. So make sure you don’t forget your water bottle when you go out for a run!

Persistence 

Eliud Kipchoge, a world champion long distance runner, once said, “If you want to break through, your mind should be able to control your body. Your mind should be a part of your fitness.”

It’s not easy to get out of bed at the brink of dawn to run in the cold, windy weather. The hardest part of your training will be starting the run in the first place. Some days are better than others, whether it is a sunnier day or a day with fewer people on the sidewalks. The key is consistency, but there is no harm taking a break here and there. 

Results don’t always come easily. Everyone’s bodies and training programs are different; there is no ‘one size fits all.’ Results may come within two weeks for one person, but six months for another. The best advice to keep in mind as you start your journey is to not compare your progress to someone else’s. The most important thing is to work towards your own goals at a comfortable pace.

As Usain Bolt said, “I trained four years to run nine seconds, and people give up when they don’t see results in two months.” 

Running is beneficial for the body in a multitude of ways. It trains the body physically and challenges the mind to overcome mental barriers. It is a great activity that will definitely get your body in shape. However, running isn’t the only option. Brisk walking is one of the best alternatives to running. It involves fewer forceful movements and impacts compared to running, and it is incredibly effective in burning calories and fat off the body. Race walking is another version which focuses on walking really quickly, much faster than brisk walking. This alternative is often used for competitions and the contestant’s feet must be at the ground at all times and their legs must be straight to be considered ‘race walking’ the whole distance. 

The definition of a ‘run’ is vague and relative. There is not one exact definition because there are so many different types of the activity. You can walk instead of jog, jog instead of sprint, or sprint instead of race walking.

The journey to start running isn’t easy, but once you start, you will enjoy the challenge and the energy it supplies throughout the day. The true achievement at the end of the day is the progress, muscle endurance, and the challenges you overcame. As much as your body will dislike the run, your cardiovascular muscles will be celebrating with joy as they live another day stronger than ever. 

As Usain Bolt said, “I trained four years to run nine seconds, and people give up when they don’t see results in two months.”