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Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise in America. It may also be one of the healthiest.
Numerous long-term studies — some involving thousands of participants — have shown that running benefits people physically and mentally. Research has also found that runners tend to live longer and have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer than nonrunners.
One might assume that in order to reap the biggest rewards, you need to regularly run long distances, but there’s strong evidence linking even very short, occasional runs to significant health benefits, particularly when it comes to longevity and mental well-being.
“We’ve found that going for something like a two-mile run a few times a week gets you pretty much the full benefit of running in terms of lower mortality,” said Dr. James H. O’Keefe, the director of preventive cardiology at St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.
Why short runs may be so good for you
During the past decade, Dr. O’Keefe has published multiple studies on running for health and longevity. In one of those studies, he and his colleagues analyzed long-term health and exercise data collected from around 5000 European adults ranging in age from 20 to 92. Compared to nonrunners, people who ran between one and 2.4 hours per week at a slow or moderate pace enjoyed the greatest reductions in mortality — greater even than among runners who logged more miles at a faster pace.
Other researchers have come to similar conclusions.
For example, a 15-year study on over 55,000 Americans ages 18 to 100 found that running just five to 10 minutes per day at a slow pace (under six miles per hour) was associated with “markedly reduced risks” for all causes of death. It was also enough to extend a person’s life by several years.
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