As those of you have been following my blog already know, I have been running since 2002 and have completed over 20 marathons. That’s not counting last Sunday when Judy and I ran the marathon distance, 42.2 km, from London to Port Stanley in incessant rain— with water steadily dripping from the visor of my cap, water sloshing in our shoes, water-logged shorts chafing in places they shouldn’t chafe, constantly sprayed with water from passing cars and trucks. Our running group has been doing an organized London to Port Stanley run for 33 years, and reportedly this is the first time in its history that the run has been accompanied by nonstop rain.

“I don’t live to run, I run to live.”

What would prompt an otherwise sane (!) person like me to voluntarily choose to spend over four hours running along a busy highway in pouring rain?  Well, as someone said, “I don’t live to run, I run to live.” Let me describe a few ways in which running contributes to healthy living for me:

  • Running improves my physical well-being.  Many studies have confirmed the health benefits of consistent aerobic physical activity (like running).  One study of over 55,000 adults published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology demonstrated that running for even five to ten minutes a day and at slow speeds of less than 9.5 kilometers per hour is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.  Anecdotally, I can tell you that before I started running I suffered from chronic lower back pain due to deterioration of my L4/L5 disc.  Now that I have embraced the discipline of running a minimum of five kilometers five or six times a week, I cannot remember the last time I experienced an episode of severe back pain.
Running at 12,000 feet altitude in La Paz, Bolivia is challenging!
  • Running relieves anxiety and boosts my mood. I’ve never suffered from depression, but at times exhaustion, work-related stress or worry can drive my mood down to a level where I lose my enthusiasm for life, work and relationships.  A short run works like a miracle drug: I return from the run with a renewed ability to problem-solve or look beyond the challenges of the immediate situation.  Research seems to confirm my experience: studies cited by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America show that regular exercise works as well as medication for some people to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.  In one study, running was found to be as effective an intervention for depression as psychotherapy.  It may not work for everyone, but I swear by running as the best and cheapest therapy for anxiety and dysthymia (low-level depression).
    It may not work for everyone, but I swear by running as the best and cheapest therapy for anxiety and low-level depression.
  • Running helps me solve problems.  As the chief executive of a growing and complex organization, I am expected to make difficult decisions from time to time.  In fact, problem-solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. The solutions to many vexing leadership challenges have come to me while running: how to bust an organizational silo, how to achieve a strategic re-alignment of the organization, who to hire for a key leadership role. Choosing a familiar running route, I first allow myself some time to warm up, settle into a relaxed breathing pattern and find a comfortable cadence— and then I block out distractions and begin to cycle through the options that are before me. I “try each one on for size” in my imagination, allowing time to consider the implications of that decision, until logic, experience and intuition combine to reveal the best direction among the available choices.  I return from my run with a resolve to pursue the path I chose on the trail.
  • Running is a great way to explore the world we inhabit. I have been fortunate enough to travel widely for work and leisure, and never leave home without my running shoes.  A rough count says that up until now I have run in 15 different countries of the world.  When visiting a new city or a new country, running provides an opportunity to experience the culture at street level—like when I ran through the streets of Chennai, India at 6 am one morning, and observed the fruit and vegetable wallahs setting up their stalls for the day and men performing their morning ablutions at standpipes along the curbs.  Among my most memorable international running experiences was completing the circuit of the old city wall of Xi’an, China at night. Runners have the advantage of the capacity (and desire) to run for miles— and what better way to put that capacity to use than to explore a new location?
While running through Parc du Mont Royal in Montreal this week, Judy spotted a stairway. “Where does that stairway go?” she said. I said, “I don’t know.”  She said, “Let’s find out.”  “OK,” I said.  That’s what runners do.

All of the above are true, and are significant personal reasons why I run. I could go on to talk about how running creates beneficial structure in my life, or how running builds community. Instead, I’ll end with this—running is a way to do good. Every year, millions of dollars are raised for various worthy causes by runners. A year ago, I set out to run a marathon on a different continent every year and use the event as an opportunity to raise awareness of the global problem of violence against the poor.  I call it “Going the Distance“, and this year I’ll be running a marathon in Perth, Australia to draw attention to the spread of cybersex trafficking of children in the Philippines. The crime has been fueled by access to cheap internet and technology, the high level of English, well-established money wiring services and rampant poverty. Children, even very young children, are abused and raped over live-streaming video, often by family members.

According to its justice department, the Philippines receives at least 3,000 reports per month from other countries of possible cases of its children being sexually exploited online – a number which has tripled in the last three years.  International Justice Mission, the organization I lead here in Canada, is working with the Philippines National Police to ensure laws against this evil business are enforced.  Last month, a European referral led to the arrest of a mother who was offering children to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam in exchange for money from foreign customers.  Five children were rescued, including two of the mother’s own children—a nine year-old girl and seven year-old boy. These children are in the care of Philippine social services and IJM social workers will walk alongside them to support their healing and make sure they stay safe.

IJM supported Philippine police during the rescue of two girls and three boys, ranging in age from 12 to only five months old. The suspect—the mother of two of the victims—will face trafficking charges.

My goal in running the marathon in Perth on August 26 is to raise $15,000 to help IJM protect young children in the Philippines from cybersex trafficking.  Good friends have already sponsored me for a total of $4,670—31% of my target.  Will you help me go the distance, and reach 100% of my goal?  You can make a tax-receiptable donation at https://ijm.akaraisin.com/goingthedistance/2018.  Running is a way to do good!

© 2018 Edwin Wilson