Coaches Corner: 37 Running Facts That Are Strange but True

This Coaches Corner is brought to you by Ann Edwards of Elite Sports. Ann Edwards is a fully qualified personal trainer. She has been helping people in the field of bodybuilding and fitness for more than a decade using her nutrition and physical therapy background. Learn 38 Running Facts that are strange but true in this article!

Running lies among the most common activities which humans do every day. Irrespective of their gender, age & shape. Everyone is capable of running if they want or are required to.

Every day, hundreds and thousands of people around the globe go for the run. Some go for marathons, some for jogging, while some venture into the mountains, but they do have one thing in common: Health! With these running facts, you may be surprised how much more running does.

What Makes Running Awesome

Running is a highly rewarding activity in terms of both physical and mental fitness. Yet, most people don't know much about this activity except that you get to move your body parts. If you fall into this crowd, then you have come to the right place. These motivational running facts will make you want to grab your running shoes and running tracksuit to hit the pavement.

From cardiovascular benefits to calorie-burning properties, regular runners experience it all. Like every dynamic activity, running also requires adequate preparation, optimized equipment & caution.

Get Your Facts Straight Before Your Next Run

Unique and Interesting Facts about Running:

1. Running is an intense activity that involves 200 muscles of your body, strengthens them, and remakes your bones.
   
2. Running for up to 30-minutes in a day elevates a person’s mood, sleep quality & concentration levels. On average, runners tend to live a happier and longer life compared to non-runners. Also, it boosts the sex drive in men as it increases levels of testosterone levels by 15%.
   
3. This vigorous activity helps in maintaining a balanced concentration of sugar and carbohydrates in the blood.
   
4. As vigorous as it is, running is considered a basic form of exercise. As you get to use your whole body weight & both legs. It activates 26 bones, 112 ligaments, 33 joints, along with blood vessels, nerves & tendons.
   
5. Humans in ancient times acquired running ability for long mileage almost 2.6 million years ago.
   
6. Running helps with developing social skills. A health experiment demonstrated how this activity possesses potential encouragement in children who struggle to deal with bullies.
   
7. Endurance runners tend to have a more developed nervous system. During running exercise, FNDC5 molecules in the brain get activated. The activation process makes your memory sharper & eases learning difficult subjects.
   
8. Going for a short run during work increases your productivity up to 23%. It can help you manage work-related sluggishness at work.
   
9. While you run, your brain's functioning sharpens. As this area is responsible for managing vision & hearing.
   
10. The ideal temperature for a perfect run is 45 degrees Fahrenheit. It is based on the body's reaction to certain temperatures. 
    
11. Police used to stop people from running until the late 1960s. They found it suspicious. Thus most people opted for morning jogs. Apart from this, running helps in developing a lot of positive habits.
    
12. Music boosts your running performance up to 15%. That’s one of the main reasons why runners listen to music while running.
    
13. You can burn a minimum of 10 calories in a minute while running.
    
14. The most common injuries that runners suffer from are related to knees.
    
15. Runners with red clothing have a higher probability of winning the race.
    According to a study, the red color indicated dominance & higher testosterone levels.
    
16. While running takes 200 muscles, the brain muscle gets a ton of work as well... creating positive and long-lasting effects
    
17. Men, in general, run faster compared to women due to various reasons. They have higher hemoglobin, a higher concentration of sex hormones, more muscular mass & larger lung capacity.
    
18. Running on cold days is safer than running on hot days.
    
19. In the year 1886, First Olympic Marathon was held.
    
20. Studies show that running stimulates your immune system and helps in fighting off colds.
    
21. While running, our hearts generate enough pressure for squirting blood 30 feet.
    
22. Running helps lactating women. Intense running activity causes lactic acid to build up in your body. Because of that, it can make breast milk a little taste sour as milk absorbs lactic acid.
    
23. Breasts move at the same pace, regardless of if you are running fast or slow.
    
24. While running, breasts don't just shake up & down; in fact, they move in a complex 8-figure pattern, covering about 6 inches of motion.
    
25. Sports bras were invented in 1977. You might be imagining how hard it would have been for women to run. Indeed it was. Sports bras are a great addition to women's fitness apparel.
    
26. Running shoes usually start breaking from the middle. Sometimes, the sole ball can get pliant, it’s usually a vital sign of a damaged sole.
    
27. First NYC Marathon took place in 1970. Each participant had to pay $1 as a registration fee.
    
28. The hottest marathon that ever took place was the Kauai Marathon. On event day, the temperature was 26°C-80°F. And The coldest one took place in Ottawa, Canada, with an average temperature of -5°C -23°F.
    
29. The oldest annual marathon is held in Boston. It was Launched back in 1897 and was 24.5 long. Only 15 participants took part in that race. In 1972 after almost a century, it allowed women to take part in this race.
    
30. Poor fitting of running shoes can cause blackening of toenails. It’s another common thing that happens with runners, and most of them don’t even know the reason.
    
31. The oldest person who completed the marathon was a 100 years old Indian man named Fauja Singh. He started practicing running at the age of 89.
    
32. The youngest marathon runner in the world was Budhia Singh, he completed 48 marathons before reaching the age of fifty.
    
33. For burning off a Big Mac completely, a person weighing 140 pounds is supposed to run for 52 minutes at a pace of 10 min per mile. Running burns 50% more calories compared to walking. 
    
34. On average, the finishing time for the men's marathon is 4:26 in the US and 4:52 for women.
    
35. A fun fact about running, at a specific moment, you are completely in the air (both feet are off the ground)
    
36. Even the smartest computers on this planet can’t generate the number of computations it takes to run with your two legs.
    
37. The treadmill was actually invented for punishing English prisoners.

Conclusion

There you have it, 38 running facts that are strange but true! These are sure to make you wonder what other incredible things running does to you. At the very least, you have some fun talking points for your next group run...