47 
Slowness might actually be a health benefit. Some new research says running too much at too fast a pace could prove fatal in the long term.
Exercise is good for you, to a point—do too much of it actually becomes a serious cardiac risk. That’s long been assumed, but a pair of new studies, which will run in the British health journal, Heart, next month, pretty much confirm it. In the past, the risk used to be assessed by the number of people who passed out during marathons—that was usually about one in 100,000. But while a study of 52,600 runners showed that pounding the pavement can yield a 19 percent lower mortality rate, that benefit was wiped out for those tallying 20 to 25 miles a week. Not exactly sure how those stats work because we all die eventually.
The other study says that hey, if you’re slow, you’re doing something right and you’re going to benefit from it. But if you run faster than 8 miles per hour, you’re probably doing some grave damage to the old ticker.
Of course, there isn’t exactly a consensus here. Advocates of lots of fast running say that slowpoke evangelicals have an agenda, and vice-versa. But let’s just go ahead and assume that you should be proud of your 20-minute mile pace. You might not win a medal, but you’re less liable to kill yourself through exercise. [WSJ]
Image credit: Shutterstock/Rihardzz
Dammit Leslie! I ran 20 miles this week and I was feeling pretty good about myself….
That’s almost 13kph, I don’t think most people planning to do a bit of exercise have a lot to worry about. Even when I was running regularly I’d struggle to maintain that for more than a kilometre or two.
I had a trip to the hospital a few years ago and the nurse reckoned I could be a heart donor to an elephant, given the numbers my heart was showing. I run 30 a week and feel great.
Damn my bad back keeping me from running… Really though as long as people are training well within their aerobic range then the health benefits must be positive. To keep sustained speeds up at the levels mentioned all but the most elite athletes would be going anaerobic, and elite athletes aren’t really representative of the normal population.
Somebody needs to tell Dr Andrew Murray. A few hours ago he just finished his 7th Ultra marathon, having ran another 6 on different continents during the last 5 days and 13 hours.
Amazing the poor bloke hasn’t just keeled over really, if there’s anything in these results
Yeah, what he’s done can’t be healthy.
I remember when Mark Beaumont finished his round the world cycle and was asked by the press if he’d be putting his feet up, he basically said that it’d be dangerous for him to suddenly stop and put his feet up, that he’d be on a program of de-exercising himself…
Are you serious? 8mph is not really that fast. Are you saying that I’m putting my heart at risk by averaging 8.2-8.5mph (4.5/3.5 miles respectively.)
Cause it still feels like I’m not moving that fast..
I think the article does not go into enough scientific detail tbh. Age, heart condition, and BPM would probably be the most important factors to consider whether or not you’re doing yourself any harm.
For example, a 6 and a half foot athlete, with a good diet, is probably less likely to do themself any harm compared to a 4 and a half foot unfit person with a poor diet – Running at 8mph.
So if you’re reading this article, and you now feel worried, please don’t. Run at a pace that you feel comfortable with. If you feel that you’re straining yourself too much, slow down, if you’re not feeling challenged enough, speed up.