Running is one of the best exercises to lose weight but there are other physical benefits that people don’t often think of or associate with running. Heart health, a healthier lifestyle, and life longevity are other valuable benefits
from running.

“... runners tend to adopt healthy lifestyles. You may find that your eating, drinking, and lifestyle habits will fall into step with your running.”
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For example, if you are running and find that your stomach is hurting from what you ate or drank earlier or the day before, you are more apt to change what you’re eating and drinking from preventing yourself from having that feeling again. It’s important to make a decision like this rather
than choosing not to run instead. Running is cardio which
targets your heart most and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol (while still maintaining higher levels of
good cholesterol).

“Running keeps your arteries elastic, which helps keep your blood pressure low. Blood can't flow as easily through stiff arteries – and that's when the pressure rises.”
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“Running and exercise are linked to increased levels of HDLs (the so-called good cholesterol) and lower levels of LDLs (the bad cholesterol) and triglycerides, leading to lower total cholesterol levels.”
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When asking running club members what makes them
continue to run and what motivates them most, one
responded with “Motivation: good for bone density...”
Their response is true!
“Your bones and the connective tissues – ligaments,
tendons and muscle – are pumping away, providing the actual power that moves you forward, and functioning like shock absorbers every time you hit the ground... bones need to be stimulated to maintain or increase the density. Running does that.”
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In terms of life longevity, “Running helps keep the heart pumping stronger and more efficiently. It also keeps the coronary arteries open and working at full capacity, so that the heart can pump at a greater volume.”
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Running is known to be an active preventative against heart diseases.
“Researchers concluded that running 2 to 3 hours
a week can reduce your risk of gallstone disease by
20 to 40 percent.”
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As mentioned before, low blood pressure was affected as
a result of running.
“A runner’s body has a decreased need for insulin,
which generally means you’re less likely to suffer
from hypertension.”
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Running is as much of a mental activity as a physical one. “It's rare that folks think about exercise in terms of benefiting the mind. Yet fitness contributes to both physical and mental health. Brains look and function differently
according to whether they are housed in inactive or
active bodies.”
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Different parts of the brain are affected.
“Short bouts of exercise specifically benefit the functioning of a network of brain regions that includes the prefrontal cortex, the parietal cortex, and the hippocampus, which support thinking and reasoning and especially working memory... It helps you focus on what is immediately relevant to a task and screens out what is irrelevant. Working memory is one of the major building blocks of IQ.”
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Running results in creative thinking and the production of new brain cells which can ultimately change our work ethic for the better.
“The unexpected benefit of creative thinking that comes from moving our body reveals the importance of physical actions to improve performance at work. We live in an age when it is easy to be static, at our desk, on the elevator, or in a meeting, but being motionless can inhibit our thinking.”
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“Even though we are often tired after a long day of work and it feels as though we have run a marathon, it's not the same as actually hitting the track – at least to our brains. Vigorous exercise is important for growing new brain cells.”
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“... another reason to...get out for a...run...is that our body and our fitness give us more positive views of the world around us... People who are out of shape and have poor fitness levels judge hills to be steeper. People who
experience chronic pain when walking think objects are
farther away than folks of the same age who don't have
difficulty walking... if being unfit leads to judging distances and hills as less  traversable, this could lead you to be more sedentary...an unfit body influences the mind and makes it harder to get moving in the first place.”
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Everyone who runs wants to reach a runner's high. This is “the sense of exhilaration that many runners report feeling during or after a run.”
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This sensation makes you feel good and can be a sole reason why runners choose to run and are motivated. The runner’s high is what aids running to cause an “... increased
confidence and motivation, less anxiety, lower rates of
depression; more pep and vigor, and generally, a greater sense of well-being.”
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