I know just the person who can answer you, and I just forwarded her your post...(-;

Can't wait!

But what are you doing up so late- easpecially as,I guess,you are " one of them" ?

if "one of them" means runners, then I ain't one of them...(-;

I'm a late sleeper. By the time my kid goes to bed, I shower, I chill a little bit, etc: I only hit the PC around 23h to start the evening...

Don't be silly, it's obvious isn't it ? It's because it is boring. All part of the national psych  :-)

i couldn't have said it better

Well,that's no good - three non runners commenting.

what do the runners say? There must be something in it as it seems to be getting more and more popular.And loads of people train for mini marathons and stuff too.

Maybe runners are folk who think with their feet.

I'm English and have been running since the early 80s. In all that time I've had very few injuries, much less than people I know that do other sports. I've completed 3 London marathons and one New York and found an amazing sense of achievement in all of them.

I started running because my dad has heart disease and running is very very good for your heart.

I find it meditational. Running along the Arve river early on a bright sunday (or any) morning is an incredible experience, which brightens the spirit and is good for my soul

It also counteracts the obvious downside of drinking beer.

.....and I have yet to see a runner with a smile on their face when doing their thing......

And how will you counteract the beer if and/or when you can’t run any more?

Oh,Ritchie,you can't ask an English person such a question!!

Really?

Is there some (EU ?) law that says it’s a violation of human rights or some similar nonsense of the sort?

They are probably in training for the Escalade race.

Or just running for the same reasons that people all over the world run.

And who encouraged the world’s people to run?

A little bird told me that, in the tropics, the example was set by mad dogs and Englishmen in the noon-day sun.

And Geneva’s Escalade run is a very recent commercial import to bring in yet more tourists and shoppers to disrupt the traffic.

La Mère Royaume would probably  pour a few more cauldrons of soup over the ramparts if she saw the mayhem that happens now.

Yes. As proposed Nigel Farage

Who else?

(Well, I guess it was a silly question ...)

I always run with a smile on my face despite the comment above and tend to say hi as i pass people!  I run because it's the only sport I have experienced that creates a completely clear mind and total clarity of your thoughts.  Nothing else comes close for me.  It takes me about an hour or so after I begin running but when it occurs my mind completely clears out the "noise" and becomes somehow pure, focussed and empty at the same time, and things that were unlear become obvious.  So i guess like David its a form of meditation for me.  I also do it becuase its dead easy and requires no preparation, you just put some trainers on and go.  I'm not chasing demons, i love the challenge of getting a medal from time to time and i think its good to set yourself goals like doing 10k, 21k etc in a competitive environment as it does give you some form of achievement but really i just do it because of the way it makes me feel.  Even the tiredness afterwards feels totally relaxing.

People run for different reasons: health, competition or competition and health! :-)

Between the health reasons:

Your heart becomes more strong, so you have less cardio problems, less cholesterol and better and faster recover for efforts (like using stairs or climbing hills).

It is an antistress and relaxing, good for your mind and your mood.

Better bones density and solid muscles (specially feet bones and muscles)

Improve your breathing and oxygenation.

Lost fat, so you can eat and drink what you want.

Keeps you younger inside and outside your body. :-)

Between the competition reasons:

Running is one of the activities which let's you improve the practice of other kind of sports, like football, basketball, swimming, bicycle, etc.

And of course let you compete in medium and long distances races as 5k to marathon or even more.

Certainly you could be injured doing too much running in short time, so you have to start progressively.

I run regurlarly for more than 15 years and the few times i got injures was from road bycicle and football.

I hope this will contribute to make change the bad perception that people have about running :-)

Cheers

I can see how that meditative bit could work.You do make the experience itself sound very attractive

On the injuries thing,I have been put off by people who develop problems later in life and are told that the origin of these problems( mainly joint problems) is their history of.....running :-(

The run is definitely not recent and what's wrong with bringing tourists in. It gives the locals & visitors an opportunity to interact. People have plenty of warning that roads will be closed. The atmosphere is fun and brings some warmth to a dreary season. It also gets people of all ages out exercising . 

I think that Hucklwoo & R2D2 have answered the original question

Probably is because they overused or had bad conditions for running, like no good shoes or running too much on hard surfaces.

If you run only for health, you don´t need to run too much and not fast, so the joints will keep in good and/or better conditions. :-)

It's also possible to meditate just fine when you close your eyes and..relax.

But don´t walk or run closing your eyes to avoid injures!! :-)

I agree although it’s possibly safer to meditate if one is sitting or lying down.

The craze for keeping fit is nothing but a colossal commercial con to swell the coffers of the sports gear industry whose products are processed in third world sweat shops.

possibly the most blinkered view I have read in a very long time

If that were true I wouldn't be running.  i promise you its totally different in a myriad different ways. 

Neigh, neigh.

Would be a challenge for me to image that anyone could be unaware of the benefits of running. It clears the head, it puts ideas into place, it gets all the systems working, it dissolves stress, and a lot more. In the beginning it may seem tedious, but it rapidly becomes addictive.  Ideally I would run every day but I guess that would be delusional. Among other advantages, I managed to catch a lot of trains because I can run ;-)

How could it not be true? We have generations of people who can attest to this.  Examples: Ghandi, Confusous, and my grandparents .. to name just a few

I guess my comment was too brief; I understand that it's possible to meditate by just closing your eyes and relaxing, but the result (to me, everyone is different) is totally different when I run - running feels like an enhanced meditation.  Maybe that means it's just my method to reach a proper meditation but it feels more comprehensive since you have physical peace as well as mental peace.  It's tricky to describe without sounding absurd but if you will forgive my indulgence, here goes...

The first fifteen minutes of running are normally the hardest, as your body comes to terms with the extra exertion. Your muscles aren't used to the effort and your breathing isn't yet meeting your needs. But your body gradually adapts as you warm up, your energy demands stabilise if you go at a fairly constant speed and your heart rate increases until you meet your physical needs to run. It feels tough to start but as time passes, you become more and more comfortable, more and more used to it and more and more at ease once you find your rhythm. You start to forget about the act of running as you find a speed that is sustainable, like you could just continue, and it becomes progressively automatic.   Imagine after a while reaching the point that your body is totally comfortable running, that every bone, muscle and joint is fluid as if you have been drenched in castrol gtx. Imagine your body just functioning as a running instrument, 100% in tune and just working without any particular direction. You no longer need to think about it. And then imagine your brain accepting this, calmly dropping gear into neutral without any fanfare and just letting the body turn its machinery. Your brain releases, your body is functioning as if it were always designed to run, and the two continue in unspoken harmony.  Your mind is free to rest or to just watch the beauty in the scenery and drink it in. Things that were complex become simple and life is refreshed.  *Thats* what running does to me.  

That feeling continues long after you stop running.  I ache the next day but it’s worth it. 

Wow - after reading that,Huckle,I almost want to take up running myself(though have weak ankles so probably a bad idea)

it sounds wonderful

Dear All.

I've not read the post's - but all I can say running changed my life.

I had a dream several years ago, to run a marathon, back in 2008. @ that time this page was called "genevaonline" and had around 20'000 members - everyone laughed, she can NOT do it.

Sooo happy that I proved everyone wrong, ok - I was the last one on Sept 28th, 2008 (in the Geneva Marathon, but I managed to inspire over 50 people to join me) - AND I proved that running can be done. 

Over the past years I've finished 6 marathons, 1/2 marathons, triathlons - so my saying is - it's never too late to start something new.

No matter what age - what level - just start. Run 1 minute - walk 1 minute and so on...

I started Geneva Runners, because I had a dream - and today I am more than proud, from a group of non runners - we have now "the top = fastest runners" in Geneva.

We participate in events, not only in Switzerland - but around the world, and all share the same spirtit, = running. (11 of us even went to Mongolia back in 2009, to the sunrise to sunset marathon)

Very proud to say that Geneva Runners have changed the lives of many people, not only for running, we had 5 Geneva Runners weddings, 3 babies have been born - and the next two are due in Nov.

All I can say - start running - it will change your life for the better.

Thank you for reading. :)

I can totally understand the skepticism about running, as until few months ago the only reason for me to run would have been escaping from natural disasters.

It might seem crazy, but once you start it really gets addictive and motivating, as you can enjoy fast improvements. Huckle  describes the runner's feeling with stunning precision, thanks for that. I can only add that the time you spend running is a moment you fully dedicate to yourself, during which your body and your mind are united. 

Health benefits are uncountable, and science has demonstrated how regular physical activity, from moderate to intense, can prevent not only cardiovascular disease but also cancer, especially breast and colon cancer. Whoever interested can find more details here 

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/physicalactivity

Also, great benefits for your skin complexion are granted ;)

They may be trying to run away from this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2642305/British-girls-fattest-Europe-Almost-females-age-20-UK-overweight-obese-claims-study.html

That ain't pretty.

The question could obvioulsy be rephrased as " What do people run for ? "

Let us make it shorter, as some recommend in writing : 

- " why do people run ? "

- " why run ? " (or " why people ? " haha)

- " why ? "

- " y ? " (so many articles about this one, I know)

-  " ? " (cannot make it shorter, can I ?)

Hence an answer to your question : 

Life is a question mark. Run it as you wish. 

:)

Because you meet great fellow runners:

Last year I entered the Geneva Marathon.  From the start I was the last of the runners and feeling embarrassed.

The guy who was in front of me, second to last, was taunting me saying"Hey, how does it feel to be last?” I replied: “Do you want to know?” and I dropped out.

Two hikers on a trail came around the bend to find an enormous brown bear about 75 yards up the trail. The bear spies them and begins running toward them at a full gallop. One hiker drops his backpack, sits down, throws off his boots, and starts lacing up a pair of running shoes. The other hiker says: “What are you doing? You will never outrun that bear!”. The first hiker replies: “I don’t have to outrun the bear…”.

ROFL!!!

Good one! It's one of these jokes you wish they were true...