When you’re over the age of 30, running marathons can bring many benefits that are often not the case when you’re younger. Whether you’re aware of the advantages or not, they do exist, and is exactly what I’m going to be going through in this article. Sit back, relax, and enjoy reading some of the many benefits you get when running and training for marathons.
1. Healthy body and mind
The first and often considered the most evident point is that when you run marathons, you become more physically and mentally healthy. You’ve also probably heard that the key to a good race is a healthy mind, correct? Nonetheless, running changes you for the better. When you first begin to run marathons, you’ll find it to be particularly hard as you don’t have much experience. As you become more qualified and experienced as a marathon runner, you’ll notice how much easier it is to run a marathon in comparison to when you just started. You’ll also begin to notice how much better you feel for doing so. Your mind will be clear, and your body will be capable of doing things you never thought were possible! Not to mention you’ll look and feel younger the more fit and healthy you are.
2. More energy for important things
When you’re over 30, you begin to cherish the more important things in life you never really appreciated. This includes your siblings, family, friends, spouse, and other significant others. When you have children, it can be draining to spend a lot of time with them. They can be high-maintenance and a handful at times, but that’s the joys of being a parent (you’ll be more appreciative of this when they grow up and won’t want to spend as much time with you, trust me!). When you run and train for marathons, you begin to feel more motivated and energized to playing and spending time with those who you consider to be important. This isn’t restricted to children: it can be pets, hobbies, travelling, and whatever else you sometimes don’t have the energy to do.
3. Meet awesome people
If there’s one thing I love about marathon running, it’s all the awesome people I get to meet. From all ages, races, sexes, heights, personalities (you get the point) it really allows you to open your mind which helps you become a better person. Marathon running is a community event – everyone is there for one another, supporting each other from start to finish. I have known strangers helping strangers push through the race, with encouragement, whether it is through words or actions. I find that some of the most positive people are marathon runners, and we’re all in it together!
4. Rewarded with a medal at the end
This may not seem like a big deal to many people, but to me, it is – for psychological reasons. Receiving a medal at the end of a long, exhausting marathon is a huge moment, and one you should remember for the rest of your life. The weeks of training put into the marathon, and you’re rewarded with sentimental value at the end (it’s shiny and looks cool, also). It is proof you finished a marathon. When your friends and family are over, you can wear that medal around your neck with pride – after all, you earned it!
5. Travelling experiences
No matter where you live or what your background is, when you become enthusiastic about running marathons, it opens doors to many different travelling experiences. This gets you outside of your own country or state, and allows for you to experience the cultural differences of the location you’re travelling to. You may want to hire a vehicle if your travelling far, say a van, and you’ll want to make sure you have insurance on this (which you can get from moneyexpert.com). Don’t worry, you can still see all the amazing sites and views! Through this, you’ll inevitably meet people from all over the world who are there for the same reasons as yourself, and is an ideal way of making new friends with similar interests as you. And at the end of your travel, you’ll have an abundance of memories, pictures and videos to share with others for the rest of your life. Just imagine travelling from America to, say… Buenos Aires Marathon in Argentina. What a story that’ll be for the rest of your life! Plus, you could even schedule your trip so that you can incorporate some tourist activities! For example, in Argentina patagonia tours are particularly popular. The vast scope of the Patagonia region spans between Argentina and Chile and is the perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts, avid naturalists and those with a thirst for adventure. Some people even get to travel all around the world for work. Some companies will look at places like Corporate Housing Associates, LP official website for example, and organise accommodation for staff when they are required to travel for business reasons. Can you imagine being told by your boss that you must travel to another country, and be provided with accommodation? It would be the dream! I can guarantee you your grandchildren would love to hear that one.
6. Running is an antidepressant
The main issue with medication antidepressants is it can be a risk when consuming the medication. Depending on your health status, age and many other factors, you could be putting your body in potential danger. For example, if you’re over the age of 65, you’re more likely to be prone to falls, fractures and loss of bones caused by an antidepressant. However, running is a natural, healthy antidepressant and can be done by almost anyone completely free. If you look back at point #1, you’ll notice this point isn’t exclusive to that point. However, on the topic of depression and antidepressants, running is a proven method of receiving a dose of natural antidepressants, and is recommended by all renowned, credible psychologists. I understand that some people may require medication similar to effexor xr to help with depression and it is up to you to talk to your doctor about whether or running could be helpful to you.
Conclusion
If you’re over 30 running and training for marathons like never before, then I bow down to you, and congratulate you for bettering yourself and your life. It takes heroism to fight against the grain to change your life, and that needs to be acknowledged.
Author Bio
Curt Davies is a marathon enthusiast and has built his own website located at www.marathondriven.com. It’s stacked with information and other goodies regarding marathon running and training for those over the age of 30. If you want to find out more about Curt and what he writes about, you can freely open the link mentioned earlier.