Get smarter, stronger: running on campus

If ever there is a time in life when a person can set the stage for being fit and healthy later on, those years in the early-to-mid-twenties are it.

For college students, this is a great opportunity to build healthy habits for life.  That said, it can still be tricky.

On one hand, students are typically young, energetic, and have more flexibility in their day-to-day routine than at any other point in life. On the other hand, they face daily temptations ranging from late-night parties to greasy cafeteria food, not to mention the general chaos that sometimes goes along with those first few years away from home.

If regular exercise isn’t happening through an organized sport or some other high-energy activity, it’s easy for a young adult to end up losing grip on that youthful fitness that perhaps came so easily once upon a time.

Running can be a great way to keep that from happening. And the college setting can actually be an ideal place to establish healthy habits that will stick with a person for a long time to come.

Schedules are flexible. Campuses are gorgeous, well-lit, and full of paths and trails. Gyms are well-maintained, low or no cost, and close by.

It’s an ideal environment for running success.

Besides, college is stressful and running is a great stress reliever. I’ll put my money on the kid who goes for a run during a study break before finals over the one guzzling coffee and soda to stay awake any day of the week.

Many of the frustrated, out-of-shape, middle-aged folks out there can point to a time in their lives when their fitness momentum shifted.  Being youthful and healthy gave way to getting older and becoming more and more out of shape.

A lot of them will tell you that it was during their college years that they turned that regrettable corner.  The rest, oftentimes, is history.

College is a time when lifelong habits are made…for better and for worse.  If you or somebody you care about is headed to school this fall, consider a nudge in the direction of a good run.

Let running be one of those good habits that sticks around, providing great benefits for many years to come.

Here’s to a healthier generation hitting the books this year.