Running to get smarter and healthier
Tomorrow the New York marathon of 2022 is on. Me and my wife are joining 50 000 other runners in NYC in the starting line. Everywhere you look tonight you’ll find runners preparing for tomorrow. Did I get the right energy? Have I prepared my breakfast right? How much time do I need for my morning routine to make it to the ferry on time? As runners we spend an insane amount of time on our hobby. I’m sure everyone has their own reasons.
For me there are three:
- Running makes me smarter - I never see things as clearly as when I get out to run. The little pettiness vanishes. I can focus on real problems and find solutions.
- Running makes me healthier - to run a marathon you need to really know your body and how it reacts to different kinds of energy under pressure. This forces me to make smarter choices. Like skipping alcohol and sugar. Or eating more fiber and vegetables.
- Hopefully running makes me live longer - well actually not the running in itself, but I do believe that a healthy life style will give increased longevity.
The last reason is really the kicker. 10 years ago I married my wife rather late in life (we were both 40 years old at the time). She comes from a family where people tend to get pretty old, like close to 100 years. That’s not the case in my family, so I figured that I need to do what I can to live longer. Running has helped me find a healthy lifestyle that might actually help me achieve what’s most important to me: to spend as many years as possible with the love of my life!