Whether you're getting to work or school by driving, bus, or train, you're spending a lot more money than you realise. What if you could save that money, save some time, and get fit - all at the same time?! The art of a running commute is one which completely changed my life and if you give it a chance, it'll change yours too.
I know - running is exercise (ugh) and that means your heart will have to go above its resting rate. There's no way you could ever find 'literally dying' enjoyable is there? Believe it or not you can! Two things. One, if you fully loathe running and you want to save even more time then you can always bike. In my (biased) opinion though, running will make you a lot fitter and is a whole lot easier because you don't have to throw the bike anywhere for the day (although most places these days have a bike rack). Two, once you grind it out for a few months you'll build a really nice base level of fitness, and from there casual running only gets easier and more enjoyable (I know it sounds ridiculous but it's true)!
So without further ado, here are the main reasons you should be run-commuting:
Save Money
What a lot people fail to realise is that small amounts of money spent often really add up over time. For example: you bus into and out of university every day, and each trip costs you a mere $2.50. So a measly $5 a day! You attend uni for four years while you get your degree. From start to finish, you end up spending roughly $3,000 on the bus. That's a whole lot of money - imagine if I said I would pay you $3,000 to get fit, and have more time on your hands!
On the topic of money, if you want to take run-commuting to the next level I would invest a hundred dollars or so of your $3,000 into a sweet backpack. A lot of companies these days make run-commuting specific backpacks, so naturally there are hundreds to choose from. I've only been in contact with two super good ones in my life, and I can consequently highly recommend the both of them:
Note that there are definitely cheaper versions of both of these, but if you have the money it's a good investment!
Save Time
From everyone I've talked to, it seems the biggest issue with run-commuting is that no one has enough time. Hilariously, if you live in a remotely busy city then running will actually be faster half the time. My run commute to university (for the short time I went) was six kilometers, so it took about 30 minutes. The few times I took the bus it was about five minutes of walking to the bus stop, five minutes of waiting, and then at least 30 minutes of being on the bus on a good day. That's ten minutes longer and $2.50 more than getting fit!
Now I know that not everyone is so close to their workplace, but why not try taking transport to a few stops earlier and running from there, or running one way, or biking to a nearby bike rack?
The point is, no matter where you have to travel everyday, there's gotta be a way you can get some exercise in for no additional money or time. So many people will work or be at school from 9am-5pm and then try desperately to cram in some exercise afterwards - but you don't have to! The best way to view it is that you are getting exercise time for free. Rather than spending an hour every day travelling you could effectively cut that out all together because now your hour of daily exercise takes its place. Awesome right? Let me show you with the use of an oversimplified and slightly embellished pie chart or two:
Note: Make sure you know where the nearest showers are!
So that's that. My full efforts in persuading you to run to work or school. I've laid out the facts and benefits, and now it's up to you. Believe me when I say I know it's super difficult to get to the point where you can casually run ten kilometers or so and actually enjoy it, but once you do there's no going back. A new and awesome lifestyle awaits, go forth young grasshopper!
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