Study: “You Can’t Outrun Your Past”

This article in the NY Times is mostly about how running will likely not harm your heart as many people have feared. We’ve covered that before, so this isn’t news to us. But there is something in the study about runners and their hearts that we wanted to point out.

Let us quote from the article:

But the exercise also had not inoculated those with a history of unwise lifestyle choices, especially smoking, against developing heart disease.

The researchers found running is mostly good for you and can be considered one of the better ways to get healthy. But if you spent a good portion of days living unhealthy and are trying to make up for it by running marathons – running will not undo all the harm.

That doesn’t mean you should just give up and be doomed to your fate — but what it does mean is that if you are trying to get healthy by running make sure you are also altering your diet, stress level, sleep, etc. in a healthy direction.

If you are one of those people who reward your physical activity with a couple of bad habits like an extra shot of whiskey or a sugar donut, your health will be compromised. It’s great that you are getting exercise, but without taking care of the other aspects of your life, it’s probably not helping nearly as much you’d like.

We know that’s a lot to take on, but we think you are worth it.

-Shane M.