Running can lead to life extension – CapitalGazette.com

I recently received an article taken from the New York Times on April 12 about how running is the most effective exercise to increase life expectancy. Based on new and past research this new study found that, compared to nonrunners, runners tended to live about three additional years, even if they run slowly or sporadically and smoke, drink or are overweight. This finding is a follow-up from a large trove of medical and fitness tests conducted by the Cooper Institute in Dallas. This analysis found that as little as five minutes of daily running was associated with prolonged life spans.

In the three years since the original study researchers were inundated with questions from fellow scientists and the general public, says Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University and a co-author of the study. In the new study, which was published last month in Progress in Cardiovascular Disease, Dr. Lee and his colleagues reanalyzed the issues of the earlier work along with the results of other large scale studies looking at the association between exercise and mortality. Cumulatively, the data indicated that running, whatever one's pace or mileage, dropped a person's risk of premature death by almost 40 percent. This benefit held true even when researchers controlled for smoking, drinking and a history of health problems such as hypertension or obesity.

Perhaps most interesting, the researchers calculated that, hour for hour, running statistically returns more time to people's lives than it consumes. Figuring two hours per week of training, since that was the average reported by runners in the Cooper Institute's study, the researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.

So, in concrete terms, an hour of running statistically lengthens life expectancy by seven hours. Of course, these additions "are not infinite," Dr Lee says. The gains are capped at around three extra years, however much people run. The good news is that running does not become counterproductive for longevity, with improvements in life expectancy generally plateaued at about four hours of running per week.

Other kinds of exercise also reliably benefited life expectancy, but not to the same degree as running. Walking, cycling and other activities, even if they require the same exertion as running, typically dropped the risk of premature death by about 12 percent. Running also raises aerobic fitness, which is one of the best-known indicators of an individual's long-term health.

We should be aware that these findings are associational, meaning that they prove that people who run also tend to be people who live longer, but not that running directly causes the increases in longevity. Runners typically also lead healthy lives, Dr. Lee notes and their lifestyles may be playing an outsize role in longevity. One thing is certain, however. And that is that while running may or may not add years to your life, it most certainly will add life to your years!

LOCAL RACE RESULTS

April 22/Escape from the Cape Fun Run (126 finishers)

Overall winners: Male Luis Beltran 20:33; Female Casey Jolicoeur 20:37

Age Group Winners:

Age 5 & under: Female Phoebe Collins 31;18

Age 6: Male Riley Mazur 41:27; Female Keely Sabat 38:11

Age 7: Male Tse Forti 29:13; Female Bailey Benyo 35;52

Age 8: Male Logan Nguyen 26:11; Female Sadie Seabrook 29:31

Age 9: Male Cooper Thompson 28;17; Female Austen Messer 29:33

Age 10: Male Trey Remmers 26;08; Female Eva Barrat 26:47

Age 11: Male Patrick Robillard 23:47; Female -Amelia Parham 36:47-

Age 12: Male Dylan Thompson 25:18; Female - Madison Messeer 44:03

13-15: Male Ben Myers 28:16; Female Mekayla Hammon 36:55

19-34: Male Ryan Martino 20:48; Female Sarah Robillard 33:36

35-49: Male Robert Wevodau 23:41; Female -Kim Kautzman 25:17

50-69: Male David Robillard 22:01; Female Ginny Fisher 27:42

April 22/Woodside Elem. School Spring into Wellness (31 finishers)

Age Group Winners

18 & under: Male Tripp Kennedy 22:16; Female Keeley Gangl 34:40

19 & over: Male Josh Zimmerman 18:24; Female Stephanie Dapko 28;03

April 23/Vet Dogs 5K/10K and 5K with dogs/Kent Island H.S. (185 total finishers)

5K (82 Finishers)

Overall Top Finishers: Male Dylan Hurlock 22:12; Female Lynn Zepp 22:16

Age Group Winners:

10 & under: Male- Cameron Hurlock 31:24

11-15: Male Floyd Butler 24:05; Female Allison Tannahill 39:41

16-19: Male- Scott Coble 22:39; Female Cathy Turner 24:07

20-29: Male Nicholas Bermudez 26:33; Female Meghan Kline 29:54

30-39: Male Daniel Walsh 26:14; Female Laura Buckley 26:34

40-49: Male Scott Crino 24:59; Female -Stacy Swann 32:49

50-59: Male David Brocht 25:54; Female Aprille Abbott 26:14

60-69: Male Patrick MacKin 31:22; Female Valerie Reihl 29:53

70 & over: Male E.T. 38:39

10K (61 finishers)

Overall top finishers: Male -Brandon Nichols 38:19; Female Charity Edelman 47:11

Age group winners;

10 & under: Male- Jordan McCoy 54:25; Female Samantha Wills 54:57

11-15: Male William Nagle 55:09

16-19: Male- Sean Hobbs 42:59; Female Devon Hunter 49:59

20-29: Male MacKenzie Oldfield 50:00; Female Marie Roy 56:08

30-39: Male Joseph Duchesneau 1:03:23; Female Jennifer Daugherty 53:17

40-49: Male Brian Sanborn 53:24; Female Kirsten Sstrohmer 52:24

50-59: Male Ronald Lee 49:31; Female Ruth Gaudreau 50:53

60-69: Male Kenneth Gaudreau 57:09; Female Janice Uthe 55:13

Runners with dogs (42 finishers)

Overall winnners: Male Justin Zepp 19:27; Female -Tara Inverso 23:17

Age Group 0-99: Male Joseph Kruegar 22:50; Female Joann Alvarez 24:47

Continued here:

Running can lead to life extension - CapitalGazette.com