Daily jogging: key to longevity or an injury-prone hobby?

Daily jogging: key to longevity or an injury-prone hobby?

David Simon from California at the age of 61 runs more than 30 kilometers every day, but is it good for his health?

Running is a useful and accessible physical exercise that helps to take your mind off the hustle and bustle of everyday life. For some people it becomes a one-time hobby, while others devote most of their lives to it. For example, a programmer from California, David Simon. He has already passed his seventh decade, but still runs at least 30 kilometers every day.

Where did the story of the most active runner begin?

David started running in the summer of 1977 after graduating from high school. At that time he felt insecure and inhibited, he wanted to reveal himself from a completely different side. The first point of the run was the pharmacy, which is a mile from his house. He admits that the distance was very difficult at first, but this short distance gave him a huge boost to change his life for the better.

Participating in marathons and organizing races

Running marathons was a new chapter in David’s life. Going to Las Vegas for work, he went for a run out of habit and saw a crowd of people running right at him. Without a second thought, the runner joined like-minded people and received his first medal.

Now all of the marathoner’s achievements and awards can be viewed in the Strava app, in which he takes the leading position among all users. No wonder, because the runner spent 146 hours on the road and ran a total of 965.6 kilometers.

Later David started organizing marathons on his own, mainly because of his children, who took an example from their father and were eager to take part in the race. Due to time constraints, he did not organize many races, but they were still a great experience for the participants.

Coaching experience

After a while, the runner founded a youth running team called “The Calabasas Cheetahs”, which means “Cheetahs of Calabasas”, and coached them in cross-country running. David’s main advice to beginners is to start running short distances and gradually increase the load. Otherwise, you can quickly get tired and burn out on the endeavor. Running is not only a workout, but also a way of life.

Injury hazard

For 40 years of running, the man received only one serious injury – a meniscus tear. On the advice of the doctor, David had surgery, and it became one of the worst decisions: the knee was no longer the same, which noticeably affected the physical condition of the athlete.

After some time, he injured the other knee as well, but decided to refuse the operation and did not regret it. He managed to restore his leg without surgical intervention. To reduce the risk of injury, David recommends doing light and effective warm-up exercises 15 minutes before a run.

Running has become a daily activity and a kind of meditation for David, who, by the way, is already 61 years old. Now the runner is retired, and he has a lot of free time. Mostly, he jogs in the mornings, listening to his favorite podcasts and audiobooks along the way. David can’t sit still and admits that when he can’t run, he makes sure to find another activity to replace it. By running long distances, the man has become much healthier, happier and more confident, and isn’t that the most important thing?