Loving every run doesn’t require a ballot
Michelle’s marathon weekend, how running keeps you fit and the greatness in every run
It’s a big weekend for Running Tales - or at least for one half of us.
On Sunday, Michelle will take on the London Marathon - the culmination of a dream that has taken in 10 unsuccessful ballot submissions.
Watching friends complete one of the world’s biggest marathons has been great, but there have definitely been a few moments of ‘ballot envy’ along the way.
These frustrations often found their outlet in the booking of other marathon races, generally overseas, hence her standing total of 17 completed events in places as far flung and varied as Seville, Barcelona, Edinburgh and Seattle.
Eventually, the solution proved to be taking up the offer of a charity place.
On Sunday, Michelle will run for the World Cancer Research Fund in honour of her granddad and good friends Debs, Lisa and Wah.
If you’re reading this and have a few spare coins for a fantastic cause, it’d be great if you could sponsor her at this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/SFWLMarathon
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But while what Michelle and others are taking on at London is an incredible celebration of running, it’s important to remember that there will be people achieving their own version of ‘incredible’ this weekend - whether that be completing parkrun on Saturday or smashing out 100 miles just because.
Whatever your goal is, go out and get it - and if your in the supporter role, like me, make sure to fully celebrate the achievements of ‘your’ runner.
And it’s not all about hitting goals.
Running is really good for your general health and fitness, and with that in mind I thought it was worth sharing these five benefits of the sport…
It stimulates bone formation
When running the stress on our bones increases through repetitive loading.
Properly planning training to avoid overload will allow the bones to adapt to this stress and get stronger.
A good technique and proper recovery is crucial. As you age, adapting to this stress helps prevent bone loss and osteoporosis.
It strengthens your heart
The physical demands of running on your whole body increase your heart rate.
The heart has to pump faster to keep up with the intensity of the activity, making it stronger.
A fitter heart leads to less cardiac strain, improves your blood circulation and lowers your risk of high blood pressure.
It boosts your energy and metabolism
Running often makes you feel energised and more alert straight, but the biggest benefits lie in the long term effects.
Better circulation and improved lung capacity make you fitter for everyday tasks.
While everyone burns fat differently, running can be a really great way to stimulate fat burn. High-intensity and low-intensity running have their own benefits for fat loss.
It lowers your cholesterol
Moderate-intensity running activities are effective in increasing good cholesterol, which, in turn, reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and coronary artery disease.
To directly reduce the level of bad cholesterol, it’s necessary to choose exercise with a higher intensity.
It lowers your blood sugar levels
A lot of energy is needed to support the work of muscles during running.
Sugar in your blood is used to fuel that activity, meaning running lowers your blood sugar level.
Regular running can increase your insulin sensitivity and help prevent diabetes. This is because when you are more insulin-sensitive your metabolism is better at keeping your blood sugar levels within a healthy range.
So whether to hit your goals, complete a marathon or just to stay fit then enjoying your running this weekend - after all loving every run doesn’t require a ballot.
Thanks as ever for reading and listening to Running Tales. We couldn’t do this without your support - please back us to keep going by…