If the phrase “run for your life†did not originate in Hollywood adventure films, that was certainly where it gained modern currency. You can readily imagine chisel-jawed heroes from films as far back as the 30s cleverly assessing situations involving exploding volcanoes and/or armed hoardes and instructing their companions to make haste in order to survive, or more pithily expressed in a shouted, “Run for your life!†Little did those celluloid heroes or the typewriter jockeys who gave them their lines realise the truth contained in the phrase because new research shows that running does actually preserve your life, not by getting you out of the way of a lava flow but simply by promoting longevity.
In the study researchers had men and women with an average of 69 take part. The subjects were people who either ran or walked regularly for exercise. “Regular†was defined as walking or running three times a week at least for 30 minutes minimum at a time. All of the subjects were asked to walk on a force-measuring treadmill at three different speeds; 2.5kph, 4.8kph, and 6.2kph. While they did this the researchers measured their oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production as measures of walking efficiency.
The results showed that people who run regularly have a much lower metabolic cost from walking than people who walk regularly. As you get older your maximum aerobic capacity declines but according to this study it does it at a slower rate if you run rather than walk regularly. In effect people who run remain better at walking as they get older even when compared to people who walk a lot. The researchers interpret this as saying that running slows down the ageing process.
So as Stewart Granger, Bruce Willis, and Johnny Depp have no all no doubt said at some point, “Quick! Run for your life!â€
