Recently, I participated in the Long Beach Marathon. Although I signed up for the half marathon due to lacking preparation, I crossed the finish line with results that exceeded my expectations and brought me great satisfaction.
Running has now established itself beyond a simple exercise into a healthy lifestyle culture. However, for me, running was neither a means for dieting nor a way to check off a bucket list. It was a ‘treatment’ and a ‘signpost’ that helped me stand back up during life’s crucial hurdles.
In 2003, ahead of joining the medical team for the Everest Hongchi Expedition, I severely injured my left leg. Despite six months of treatment, lingering aftereffects threatened to make me give up the expedition. What became a major turning point in my life back then was traditional Korean medicine treatment. Applying self-moxibustion daily to ‘Zusanli (ST36),’ a core acupoint traditionally used to boost stomach function and leg energy, I ran 3 km round trip to the mineral spring every day. That small first step lifted me back up on my feet.
Even after successfully completing the expedition, whenever major worries or trials came my way, a habit of simply running took hold. The courage that allowed me to decide on immigrating to the United States with my family at the age of forty was much the same. Starting with just 5 km and gradually increasing the distance by 1 km at a time, that steady running is what brought me all the way here.
When you first start running, you get out of breath as if you might throw up at any moment, but the more you run, the more the stuffiness in your chest gradually and miraculously dissolves. Running does not instantly change reality. However, running built my ‘mental stamina,’ enabling me to make wise decisions at crucial moments in my life. The greatest charm of running is that it proves to you with your own body that ‘I am much stronger than I thought and capable of going much further.’ And that confidence pleasantly spills over into work, academics, and all areas of life.
In the external appearance section of the classic Korean medicine text ‘Donguibogam (Mirror of Eastern Medicine),’ there is a phrase about assessing flesh and muscle. Traditional Korean medicine viewed whether muscles and flesh are solidly maintained as an important clue for grasping the overall nutritional status and the vigor of qi and blood in the human body. Ancient ancestors regarded the state of muscles and flesh as a crucial indicator to gauge health and vitality.
Now, for seniors living in the 100-year era, maintaining thigh strength is not a choice but a necessity. Falls in old age are serious accidents that threaten life. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s statistics, approximately 40% of emergency room injury patients were due to falls, and among patients who died from falls, those aged 80 and over accounted for 42.5%. Hip fractures and other injuries from falls lead to prolonged bed rest and cause secondary complications. Therefore, one of the best ways to build robust thighs is ‘running.’ If intense running feels too burdensome, ‘slow jogging’ is actively recommended. The key is to keep a pace where you can comfortably converse with the person next to you without running out of breath, taking short strides and stepping lightly.
For about 10 to 30 minutes a day, starting by repeating 1 to 3 minutes of running and walking, you can gradually increase the time. Slow jogging can help improve cardiovascular function, regulate blood sugar, and maintain lower body strength and endurance. Pairing this with appropriate strength and balance exercises is even more effective for preventing sarcopenia and falls.
It is already autumn. For the sake of ‘honey thighs’ that create a healthy 100-year life, I encourage you to take that first step—whether walking or slow jogging—before the year ends. The power to run a long distance for a long time is rooted not only in superior posture or physical strength, but also in the mindset that ‘I can do this, too.’ Therefore, I run through the dawn today, engraving in my heart the wisdom handed down by ‘Donguibogam.’
