#141 - Have a Spring Fling with Running

Here are five reasons why you’d better get back outside into this beautiful springtime weather and take up running outdoors. Beyond the mental and social benefits, you will get into the best shape of your life just in time for summer!

5 Reasons to Have a Spring Fling with Running

Finally, the snow days are done and over with. It’s time to kick the winter blues. Dust off the porch, clean the windows, and start airing out the house because springtime is here again! At Keep Calm and Run To The Best You, many of us have adapted to all-weather running including running outdoors in the winter but most newbies do not enjoy exercise where it’s cold and icy. Who can blame you?

If you’ve been using a treadmill this winter or skipping out on exercise altogether, this is your chance to take a breath of fresh air. Here are five reasons why you should have a spring fling with running this season:

1. Impact of weather on mental health and happiness

Wintertime blues are a real thing. What the Mayo Clinic calls Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) especially impacts people in the fall and winter months. Those who suffer with depression or bipolar disorder are even more prone to this condition. The official recommendations for curing and treating SAD sufferers include light therapy/going outside, regular exercise, and cognitive behavioral therapy which is a form of talk therapy. Now, we’re no doctors but those recommendations sound a lot like the benefits our members experience when we workout together: friendship and socialization, fresh air and sunshine, light exercise like walking or short distance running. If you’re ready to overcome the SAD, start running outdoors and spend a little time with others who are trying to run off the wintertime blues. You may be surprised at how quickly you tap into true joy.

2. Your neighborhood isn’t the same without you

Community spirit is an underrated benefit that local runners experience. Shopping for a house? If you want to know what a neighborhood is really like, ask someone who runs every morning or evening. When you’re pounding the pavement, observing those who live nearby and seeing people come and go, you can get a good sense of your community and the families around you. As you’re running along front yards and passing by driveways and seeing kids playing outside, and seeing dogs greeting their owners, and seeing people watering their gardens and planting their flowers, it really connects you with your neighborhood. Statewide shutdowns did a number on our communities as many people opted to stay home and avoid interacting with others. It’s time to get back out there and let people know that you missed them, and realize that people really missed seeing you, too.

3. These are the easiest conditions for running

Spring offers the perfect climate for someone who isn’t used to outdoor running. The temperatures are cool enough to keep you comfortable while working up a sweat, and the sunshine is warm enough to ditch the clunky coat and let you run freely in your workout clothes. Whether you run on a packed dirt trail or a boardwalk or on asphalt, the ground is still firm but without the frost and ice. Even spring showers can be a blessing for a runner because it cleans off surfaces and dries up quickly. Springtime is the best time to start running if you’re new to this form of exercise. If you stick with it now, your body will be conditioned and ready to adapt when seasons change. 

Check out our Run/Walk Club and see if it’s a good fit for your fitness strategy. Coach Tadris Parker offers one-on-one coaching and health support for runners of all levels and ages. It’s also a great place to make new friends in South Jersey.

Walk or Run for Mental Health Access and Awareness on Saturday, May 28th 2022!

 Click to Register for the Jazmine T. Bryant Brighter Day 5K - Rain or Shine in Sewell, NJ

4. Feel better in your summer clothes

We’ve done this before and we’re doing it again…the time consuming seasonal wardrobe change of replacing what’s on hangers and in drawers and filling up bags with folded outfits. There’s nothing worse than going through the drill just to notice that - uh, oh! - you’ve outgrown your summer clothes from last year. Don’t make a donation pile of shorts and dresses this time. Instead of giving up on yourself, make the choice to lose weight and get healthy so you can feel great in the clothes you love. Summer is only a few months away but that’s enough time to get into shape with running. Consider the joy of throwing on a light cotton dress or a light colored tee shirt without a care in the world. Nobody wants to layer on shapewear or hide under clothes with more coverage when it’s scorching hot outside. Why limit yourself to wearing what’s flattering when you can choose a fun and comfy summer wardrobe? Give yourself the gift of feeling great in shorts and tank tops, not to mention finding a bathing suit that you can’t wait to put on! You could buy a “goal” swimsuit in early spring to add motivation to exercise and eat clean before summer.

Another way to motivate yourself is to register for an upcoming running event. Our Run a 5K program offers short term training to help get you active again. If you have a special vacation trip planned or you’re just looking forward to carefree lounging at the pool or beach, start working out now and you’ll be happy that you did!

5. Bounce back into shape for 2022 - the best version of you

Struggle is an understatement to describe where most of us have been lately. Health issues and fears cast a daunting shadow, house prices and gas prices are through the roof, and many people have turned to overeating and adopted low activity and lackluster routines. Can you relate to the struggle? Good news! There is light at the end of the tunnel and we want to encourage you to bounce back for 2022. Get into the best shape of your life this year and be intentional to undo the damage and take charge of your health. You can be better for yourself and better for your family if you feel great, increase your endurance, and renew your confidence and self esteem. You may need a little guidance with healthy eating, or maybe you want to take a giant leap and overhaul your whole lifestyle.

Join us on the mission to become better than ever. We’re doing it now so we can then help others to bounce back this year.

Our mantra is Run To The Best You and we mean it. Let’s go!

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