I think the overall point here is that your body is going to adapt to the stresses you expose it to. While it obviously won't be as extreme as a professional at

I think the overall point here is that your body is going to adapt to the stresses you expose it to. While it obviously won't be as extreme as a professional athlete, distance running will cause your body to adapt by improving cardiovascular efficiency, muscular endurance, and so on. It will not, however, cause muscle hypertrophy (in fact it may cause atrophy), and, contrary to popular belief and evidenced by this study, it may not help reduce bodyfat. This isn't exactly new either; there have been studies about this since decades ago[0] Virtually any form of physical activity is good for your body. If you want to be a rock climber then do that; if you want to be a distance runner than do that. And expect your body to adapt accordingly. But if your goals are centered around aesthetics and body composition then you should choose something that will lead you toward those goals, and if your ideal aesthetic is low bodyfat and high muscle mass then distance running is not likely to help you. [0] https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-2007-1024949 https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/1...