7 ms·

Willpower or not, I feel like running is really a great thing to do. Will Smith once said (or quoted, don't remember) that one should two things - run and read

Willpower or not, I feel like running is really a great thing to do. Will Smith once said (or quoted, don't remember) that one should two things - run and read books. I definitely agree with that. I used to practice sports a lot, football and basketball and that had a positive effect on my teamwork ability. However, only when I started running I noticed how much this sport can influence one's life. There are no shortcuts, talent has almost zero influence, and it depends only on you how well you perform. I started about a year ago, more seriously about 3 months ago, and I already see how much I'm improving in other areas of life.

Danihan 9y ago
How does talent have almost no influence? There are many genetic factors that would impact how strong a runner is. You mention football and basketball, which are essentially a series of short sprints. Sprints are _much_ healthier for people than 100-mile marathons that will essentially bathe your body in cortisol. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-evidence-continues-to-mount-against-chronic-cardio/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-evidence-continues-to-mou...
- mmmpop 9y ago
  As fairly average athlete myself, I think he's implying running is one of those sports that pure grit and determination can get you further ahead of the pack compared to many other sports. I'm just a skinny punk but I sure pass a lot of really buff guys when I run 5K races. Probably comes from a lifetime of running my mouth :)
  - TheAlchemist 9y ago
    Not exactly. In football / basketball, so much depends on chance, your team, your opponents, the referee etc. You can work more / better and still end up with worse results. Or vice versa. In running, you mostly compete against yourself (unless you are a top athlete, but that's another story). You set your goals, you work to achieve them and it depends only on you. So yeah, grit , determination or however you call it, will make you progress, and you can measure it with an easy objective function (your time vs your past times, distance).
- the_gastropod 9y ago
  It seems like the more paleo/crossfit "celebrities" contradict popular nutrition/exercise science, the more popular they get. I don't get it. The most influential figure in this space was probably Dr. Robert Atkins, who suffered multiple heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and hypertension. Why are people espousing the same junk science to be seen as credible sources?
  - Danihan 9y ago
    Yes, obviously we should keep living on mostly grains, the same thing used to fatten up cattle for slaughter. I wonder why it hasn't worked yet to make everyone healthy.
hinkley 9y ago
I have a crackpot theory that participating in a physically taxing activity partly resets the hedonic treadmill. Most of the tragedies in day to day life are really minor but most of us lack perspective. I wouldn't wish an actual tragedy on anyone, but there are people in my life who could definitely benefit from taking up an endurance sport or doing real volunteer work. I think a half marathon or a century (100 miles on a bike) will change your tune about the line at the DMV or how they don't have the phone case you wanted in the right color.
ovulator 9y ago
I ran cross country in high school on a team that was nationally ranked. I ran my ass of all year long and trained with the team doing the exact same practices. I am short and stocky, no amount of practice is going to give me the long effortless stride of the fastest of my team mates. Like in most things, talent has plenty of influence.
- hinkley 9y ago
  If you show up to practice and do the same things the more advanced kids are doing, they're going to get better almost as fast as you, and you will always be behind. The only time I ever caught up with anyone was when I did more than the coach/instructor asked.

Danihan 9y ago

How does talent have almost no influence? There are many genetic factors that would impact how strong a runner is. You mention football and basketball, which are essentially a series of short sprints. Sprints are _much_ healthier for people than 100-mile marathons that will essentially bathe your body in cortisol. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-evidence-continues-to-mount-against-chronic-cardio/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-evidence-continues-to-mou...

mmmpop 9y ago
As fairly average athlete myself, I think he's implying running is one of those sports that pure grit and determination can get you further ahead of the pack compared to many other sports. I'm just a skinny punk but I sure pass a lot of really buff guys when I run 5K races. Probably comes from a lifetime of running my mouth :)
- TheAlchemist 9y ago
  Not exactly. In football / basketball, so much depends on chance, your team, your opponents, the referee etc. You can work more / better and still end up with worse results. Or vice versa. In running, you mostly compete against yourself (unless you are a top athlete, but that's another story). You set your goals, you work to achieve them and it depends only on you. So yeah, grit , determination or however you call it, will make you progress, and you can measure it with an easy objective function (your time vs your past times, distance).
the_gastropod 9y ago
It seems like the more paleo/crossfit "celebrities" contradict popular nutrition/exercise science, the more popular they get. I don't get it. The most influential figure in this space was probably Dr. Robert Atkins, who suffered multiple heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and hypertension. Why are people espousing the same junk science to be seen as credible sources?
- Danihan 9y ago
  Yes, obviously we should keep living on mostly grains, the same thing used to fatten up cattle for slaughter. I wonder why it hasn't worked yet to make everyone healthy.

hinkley 9y ago

I have a crackpot theory that participating in a physically taxing activity partly resets the hedonic treadmill. Most of the tragedies in day to day life are really minor but most of us lack perspective. I wouldn't wish an actual tragedy on anyone, but there are people in my life who could definitely benefit from taking up an endurance sport or doing real volunteer work. I think a half marathon or a century (100 miles on a bike) will change your tune about the line at the DMV or how they don't have the phone case you wanted in the right color.

ovulator 9y ago

I ran cross country in high school on a team that was nationally ranked. I ran my ass of all year long and trained with the team doing the exact same practices. I am short and stocky, no amount of practice is going to give me the long effortless stride of the fastest of my team mates. Like in most things, talent has plenty of influence.

hinkley 9y ago
If you show up to practice and do the same things the more advanced kids are doing, they're going to get better almost as fast as you, and you will always be behind. The only time I ever caught up with anyone was when I did more than the coach/instructor asked.