Maybe I can outrun 40 after all; running slows aging

With marathon training at the center of my workout activities this year, I've joked once in a while about outrunning upcoming birthdays… but given a recent study from Stanford University, it's not entirely a joke (check out the BBC story here). The study, which tracked 500 older runners for 20 years, along with 500 similar non-runners, found that running slows the aging process – that the runners had better odds of living longer and healthier lives. According to the BBC, "Running not only appeared to slow the rate of heart and artery related deaths, but was also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes. And there was no evidence that runners were more likely to suffer osteoarthritis or need total knee replacements than non-runners – something scientists have feared."  I was glad to see the bit about the knees… I've had more than one non-runner suggest to me that was going to pay for my running now with knee surgery in the future.  As I said at the time, perhaps not, my friends. The study's lead author, James Fries of Stanford, sums it up: "If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise."

Tags: aging, Running

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