The Access Bank Lagos City Marathon slated for February 6, 2016 is not just a one day one off event. For the organizers and the sponsors, the aim is to create a culture of running, jogging and daily exercise among Lagosians and Nigerians generally.
The health benefits of going for a run are immense; apart from boosting fertility and decreasing the chances of developing cancer, regular exercise also keeps one mentally strong and alert.
Research have shown that runners make better partners and that men who regularly run long distances should win in the evolutionary battle to reproduce.
Scientists from Cambridge University studied 542 runners at the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham and found that those who finished faster were more likely to have stronger sex drives and higher sperm counts.
Research has also proved that runners make better thinkers; scientists discovered that the same bodily process that helps fuel the body efficiently also improves memory and learning.
Runners also tend to be happier. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden discovered that aerobic exercise like jogging purges the blood of a substance known as kynurenine, which accumulates during times of stress and is believed to be linked to depression.
Runners protect themselves from cancer. In a wide-ranging paper that was published in 2009, Finnish scientists revealed their conclusions after studying the health of a group of 2,560 middle-aged men over the course of roughly 17 years. They found that the men who were physically active were the least likely to develop cancer.
Runners also hear well. According to research conducted at Bellarmine University in Kentucky, US, running increases blood flow to your ears, which results in improved hearing.
Running provides an efficient, full-body workout, burns a ton of calories, tones the body, provides a great avenue for socializing, and improves emotional well-being.
Running also comes with some risk that runners must understand and then carefully determine for themselves whether the benefits outweigh the risks.
Muscle damage and inflammation are some of the risks associated with running