I have mixed feelings about this topic. when I was young and in college, I found the perfect sport for me, cross country. Now I always wanted to play on the football team or be the basketball star - dunking over everybody. God had different plans for me, you see I weighed 127 pounds and I stood 5 foot ten. Pretty much ruled me out for every sport, except running. I ran for years without much of a problem until a sciatic nerve put an end to my training. To this day, I miss the "cooling down" feeling I would get after a 20-mile run. I was always under the assumption that walking was better for you than running - I had heard that many times over, and I refused to believe it.

This past January, I bought some running shoes from Scheels and hit the streets around my apartment here In Bismarck. I set out with a goal to try and run again, but my body denied me that idea. Walking at a steady pace, trying to get my heart rate up, I began to appreciate the solitude of Tom O'Leary Golf course, I went through the trails down by Gate City Bank (River Road). I still find walking/running boring, so I listen to music to pass that time.

According to discovermagazine Plenty of studies have delved into the benefits of walking. There’s sound evidence that walking is good for mental health, particularly for combating symptoms of depression. I have only heard the part that "running is bad for you, breaks down your knees, the constant pounding and jarring your body absorbs through the years"  To my amazement, I came across some info that supports running over walking - Runners are 45 to 70 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease, and 30 to 50 percent less likely to die of cancer. There is a suggested formula I guess you can say for just how many steps you should get in per day - for exercise - 7,000–8,000 steps per day are a good minimum target for most people, explains Duck-chul Lee, an associate professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University.

But should you RUN or WALK? My own personal feeling is, that if you want to get your work-out in, running will get the job done quicker, however, I think that walking is ideal when you have someone to keep you company. Either way, it's so important to go at your OWN pace, don't burn yourself out. Make modest goals to reach and relax - life is stressful as it is.


 

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