Whether it’s at the office water cooler, the college canteen or the corporate boardroom, the conversation inevitably veers to fitness, the rage of our times. The banter can range from what one does to stay fit, to ‘how-tos’, the latest gyms in town, the newest diets, cycling, Zumba, TRX, spinning, CrossFit… the list is endless. Increasingly though, you also hear people say they are into running and chances are that you’d encounter someone who says she has run a marathon!
Running has taken off in India in the last decade in ways few could have imagined at the turn of the millennium. And it appears to have coincided with a spurt in the incidence of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and ischemic heart disease. There are now running events every alternate month of the year in most major metros and Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi/Gurugram probably have some small race or the other almost every other fortnight. Running groups and clubs too have mushroomed and even a proper coach is nowadays not so difficult to find.
Amid all the din and excitement over running as a means to gaining or regaining fitness, a few aspects, however, often get glossed over or grossly misunderstood. For starters, unlike most other fitness pursuits that may require specific arenas or equipment and someone to first guide one on how to practise the particular activity, running is natural, easiest to get started, needs virtually no equipment and no guidance or training. Most able-bodied people would have spent significant parts of their childhood running with friends or pets or even alone — chasing birds and butterflies. So, it’s simply a question of going out to the street or neighbourhood park or playground and breaking into a jog and rediscovering the fun and sheer abandon of running.
Getting it rightAnd no, one doesn’t need fancy running shoes to get started, nor are one’s knees going to wear out just because you started running. Yes, it may be best to consult a competent physician in case you have some pre-existing health condition or if you are apprehensive as to whether you can take on the aerobic intensity of running all of a sudden. Even if you aren’t wary or have been cleared to run, it still makes sense to learn to listen to your body — and here one doesn’t mean the inevitable aches and pains. For those, Japanese writer and marathoner Haruki Murakami’s “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” is the best mantra to opt for.
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to running — make your own informed choices, but once you opt for a plan or workout regimen, stick to it and soon it will become part of your daily routine. Yes, sometimes it may get tiresome just like the daily shave may get weary, in which case opt for a change of scene or running partner for a day or week, but keep at it. For there is almost no other low-cost, low maintenance, high satisfaction exercise activity that can help ensure you stay fit and active lifelong, adding life to your years if not years to your life.
suresh.seshadri@thehindu.co.in
