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The Nuance
What’s the Perfect Amount of Running for Good Health?
Fitness experts continue to disagree over whether more mileage is actually better
Every week, the Nuance will go beyond the basics, offering a deep and researched look at the latest science and expert insights on a buzzed-about health topic.
As exercise goes, running is the ur-workout — the one human beings have been doing since our species’ cave-dwelling days. There’s no lack of evidence that running is a wellspring of health and longevity. It’s among the most popular forms of aerobic exercise, and a mountain of research has linked aerobic training to health benefits ranging from reduced cancer risk to improved cognitive performance.
One 2015 study found that even a modest amount of running — five to 10 minutes a day at a slow pace — was associated with a 28 percent drop in all-cause mortality and an even greater reduction in risk of death from heart disease. “Runners, on average, lived three years longer compared to non-runners,” says study author Duck-Chul Lee, an associate professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University. Long-term runners — those who keep at it six years or more — seem to experience the greatest longevity benefits, Lee says.
Stronger and faster is not always the same as healthier.
But as running has become more popular, so too has running longer distances. More people than ever are participating in marathons (and even ultramarathons), leading experts to question whether more is really better.
“Stronger and faster is not always the same as healthier,” says James O’Keefe, MD, a cardiologist and associate clinical professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine.
Engineering a car to win the Indy 500 is a very different goal than engineering a car to run smoothly for 500,000 miles, O’Keefe says. Likewise, designing a running plan to maximize speed and endurance is not the same goal as designing a running plan to maximize longevity. “Excessive strenuous exercise can actually erase some longevity benefits seen with moderate exercise,” he adds.
