> Why do recreational distance runners care about speed so much? People want to know their health and measure its improvement. Speed is a proxy measurement fo

> Why do recreational distance runners care about speed so much? People want to know their health and measure its improvement. Speed is a proxy measurement for fitness. If there is another way to measure the health improvements of exercise directly comparable among groups, I'm not aware of it. Once a runner accomplishes the feat of running a certain distance, and doing it repeatably, the runner can either go longer distance or faster over the same distance. Yes, you can go get a VO2 max test, RMR analysis, or body comp assessment, but those are specialty services costing money and requiring professional evaluation. Not something most people can have done every weekend.