The complete book of running

Running or jogging has become not just a habit but an indispensable way of life to millions of Americans, and their numbers are increasing at a startling rate. In every state of the union, and at any hour of the day or night, men, women and children are running. This is no fad; it is a phenomenon that is not going to disappear, for its benefits and rewards are so immediate and so striking that almost anyone who tries it for a week is apt to be smitten for
life.
But though running’s popularity is easy to con-firm, what is less obvious-and only partially understood–is that its psychological benefits are at least as important as its physical ones. Of course runners feel better, become thinner, probably live longer, have a better sex life, and drink and smoke less than their sedentary companions, but they are also likely to acquire a “high” from running, increase their self-es-teem, be better able to cope with pressure and tension, feel surges of joy, discover that apparently insoluble problems dissolve, and even achieve, however temporarily, a state of serenity that carries over into their daily lives.