Desk Report : Some months ago the New York Times, in its Wellness Blog, published an essay called �Is it better to run or walk?� It compared the health benefits of running to walking using several   criteria including weight-loss and control of high blood pressure.

What struck me about the article was not its conclusion that, by most measures, running is better than   walking for one's health. Rather, I remember the outpouring of reader comments pointing out that running is not an option for many people with injuries in their feet, knees, leg or back. For them, walking is a more practical option for better health.

The choice of whether to run or walk hit close to home when I was laid low last year with a back pain for  several months. Running was out of the question. So I took up walking.

In my years of running this was not the first time I stopped because of an injury. However, this was the first time I switched to walking. In the past I had substituted swimming or bicycling.

I began to enjoy walking. But I found that I needed to walk perhaps six miles for attaining the same  weight-control that three miles of running had done for me. The time needed was impractical. Since walking was easier than running, my mind concentrated less and wandered more.

Thankfully I recovered and returned to running later in the year. After a slow and cautious ramp-up, I am  running as much as I did before.

There are many reasons why running is irresistible to me. There are physical factors such as the release of endorphins that imparts a feeling of bliss. Profuse sweating, particularly in this heat, also creates a sense of      well-being (however, the health benefits of sweating are apparently overrated.)

Much of the joy of running, for me, is in the mind. Its repetitive pattern brings an element of meditation and focuses the mind. The physical demand pushes me out of my comfort zone.

Running gives me a sense of accomplishment and power. Why? Because every run starts as a struggle and ends as a triumph.

But more than anything else, running makes me feel alive.

The novelist Haruki Murakami is an avid runner who covers much longer distances that I do. His imagination is well-fed by running. He says that he runs with an empty mind making it easy for new ideas to appear.

How about creative walkers? The writer Henry David Thoreau was an athlete whose preferred physical   activity was long-distance walking. The vitality of his health made a big contribution to his keen intellect and writing.

So it seems each activity pays off if you persist.

If you are already physically active and want to try running, it is best to start slow and build up speed and distance gradually. In this heat it is crucial to stay hydrated (drink water.) Wearing loose, comfortable clothes and good shoes are also important.

Remember, you don't need a pool or a bicycle or a gym for running - you can do it anywhere! The Daily Star

Local Time :  0248 Hours, 26 April 2024

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