Running. It’s painful, tiring and exhausting. Most of us wonder why there’s even a track team-how someone could enjoy running? But running can actually improve every part of your body. Even if you haven’t ran since gym class, it’s never too late to lace up your sneakers and get back in shape!

Running track can place extreme demands on the body, especially when running a long distance race. Sophomore Grace Gilbakian, who is a very dedicated long distance runner on the Girls Track Team, said, “I really love being apart of the running community and the people on my team are my best friends, so I really like finishing workouts with them and seeing each other improve throughout the season.”

Throughout a runners body the heart is pressured to perform at a high speed for a longer period of time causing, the runner’s cardiovascular health to improve and become stronger. This can improve the physical health in your body and decrease the chances of getting heart disease. Grace said, “Running isn’t only a sport that has to do with your physical strength and health but majority of it has to do with your mental strength. It sounds funny but you really have to believe that you can finish a race or a tough workout.”

Running can also provide a pleasurable feeling to the body when your body is releasing endorphins. This can be called “runner’s high”. It motivates many runners to keep on running and to return to the track for the pleasure and joy they get from it. Grace said, “I love to run for the satisfaction I get when running a great race or even getting over a big hill.”

Another dedicated runner on the Boys Track Team, sophomore Jerry Gwinn said, “I run because I wanted to try something new for high school and I ended up loving the sport. I was able to connect with a lot of people who are now my friends.”

Running is not a fast paced exercise. It takes longer to complete a run than any other sports activity or exercise. This helps to increase your endurance. Not only can this improve your track skills, your endurance can help you in other sports as well.

Jerry said, “My stamina definitely increased along with my endurance. I even became more flexible and the muscles in my legs got stronger. Also, Ever since I started running track I became less stressed about school.” This is probably from the release of endorphins which would put you in a better mood. He continued, “When you finish a practice you get a feeling that you can do anything.”

Running can improve your physical, mental and social health. So really the only question left is why not run? Why not join the school track team? Like Nike says,“Just do it.”