How does COVID-19 affect runners?

There's no question the COVID-19 epidemic has had distressing problems not just financially but also along with mental health problems. It has made people to become a lot more resourceful and do something to look after those around them and themselves. One particular favourable outcome of the outbreak is the number of individuals which have taken up running as a way of physical fitness as well as benefit mental health. Fairly recently, several running shoe suppliers are generally reporting about their improved product sales while in the COVID-19 restrictions.

On Global Running Day, 2nd June in 2021, World Athletics released a press release verifying this increase in popularity of going for a run. They requested an investigation from the rating agency, Nielsen's. The study was completed in ten different countries. Neilsen's found that a large number of individuals have started running while in the COVID-19 epidemic, and all of those propose to preserve their running and the love for it once the crisis has ended. Neilsen's outlined how runners have raised their participation and the number of overall health benefits that they get from it. The researchers reported that today 4 in 10 people consider themselves as being runners and thirty % of them go for a run a minumum of one day per week. Of all runners, 53% are men and 47% are females. This divide is different to what is found in a lot of other sports. In addition, they reported that about a fifth of all runners run more frequently than they did previously as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions and the majority in this group point out they will continue to run more often once the pandemic has ended.

There are many benefits associated with running that are both physical and mental. One experience is referred to as the ‘runner’s high’. This has been referred to as beginning from a “peace of mind and then a greater ease of movement, a feeling of power and also confidence, optimism and hope, and you should have often heard runners explain feeling loving and connected to others and everything”. The final results of the study demonstrates this ‘runners high’ experience, with three quarters of all runners saying yes that running is ‘good for my mind along with my body’. Those who were aged 25-34 are most likely to be passionate about their running, with half saying yes that it is a part of who they really are. Runners will probably consider themselves to be more comfortable and friendly, much more family oriented, positive and passionate, showing increased self-confidence to affiliate themselves with positive personality attributes than those who are not runners. This props up the important mental health advantages connected with going for a run.

For those who are current runners, one of the primary reasons in the decision to keep running are well being reasons as well as the opportunity to go at your own rate and not requiring much equipment. This makes running is a lot easier to take part in with the only required item of equipment being a good pair of running footwear, even though lots of runners do purchase GPS watches along with other pieces of equipment.