Runners World: What's That Green Stuff?

Getting Outside in City Green Spaces May Help You Live Longer
Boost the benefits by adding in some exercise, too.
Elizabeth Millard/Runners' World/December 20, 2019

Finding time to enjoy a city park isn’t just a pleasant lunchtime excursion—recent research suggests those outings could help you live longer.

Published in the journal Lancet Public Health, a World Health Organization review of nine major studies from seven countries—representing over 8 million people—on green spaces and all-cause mortality found that there’s a significant association between exposure to green spaces in urban areas and better public health.

Researchers found that for every 0.1 increase in green space within a third of a mile of a person’s home, there was a 4 percent reduction in premature death. This was consistent across every country, including the U.S., China, Spain, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland...

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Runners World: Compared to Whom

How Do You Compare to Every Runner on Strava This Year?
This year’s trends among Strava users may inspire your running goals for 2020.
Paige Triola/Runners' World.com, Dec 11, 2019

Whether it seemed to fly by or crawl along at a snail-like pace, with 2019 just about wrapped up, many runners are reflecting back on their year with a few questions:

• How well did I stick to my training plans? 
• Did I reach my annual mileage goal? 
• Was I doing enough cross-training? 

If you’re curious about how other runners performed this year, Strava can shed some light on the subject. The app’s annual “Year in Sport” report is out—and we wanted to put the running-related data on display for your viewing pleasure...

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TrainRight.com: Okay Boomer This

5 Things Aging Runners Need To Do In Your 50s, 60s, and Beyond
Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Coach/trainright.com

When I turned 50 I felt like an old man, just like that. While I know “age is just a number” there was something about the Big 5-0 that felt a bit different. Put bluntly, it felt to me that after 50 I was on the downhill side of life.

So, after being depressed about this realization for a little bit, I began noodling around with thoughts of what in my life gives me pleasure and how I can takes those things and find ways to maintain or enhance them in this stage of life. And, of course, running was close to the top of my list. It is certainly one of the most pleasurable parts of my daily existence and so, as both a runner and a running coach, I began to reflect on what things are most important to the aging runner. And, in the process, I came up with five key tips to keep running happily into old age...

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