Quote Originally Posted by zoom-zoom View Post
but I ran 1800+ SLOW miles last year.
Wow; that's fantastic.

Here's my own take on Catrin's question:

I don't know if I'd agree that certain "body types" aren't built for running. I do think, however, that any number of issues can make running difficult, painful, or unwise. Simply put, running can be hard on your body. I say this as a (mostly) former runner that had a lot of problems. In retrospect, I likely could have prevented some of those problems if I'd known more at the time or had been coached by somebody who knew more. Most of my injuries happened when I was a high school long distance runner. Sadly, all that pain really killed my desire to run.

That said, I decided to start running again a few years back at age 38 or so. I took it very, very slow and more or less followed the Couch to 5k training plan. I can't say that I ever grew to love it, but I didn't hurt myself either. It took some patience to build the necessary aerobic capacity, but when cycling started up again that spring, I was in really good shape for climbing. I loved that, and I liked how running made my legs look, too.

Still, running is, at best, "off season" activity for me to do during the winter. I had every plan to start back up this past winter, but I had some eye problems and was advised against running until they resolved themselves. By the time they did, it was January and, well, I just felt unmotivated.

I do think cyclists should strive to do some weight bearing exercise for bone density. Cycling doesn't provide that. All things considered, however, I would rather do resistance work, hiking, or speed walk than run.