Eight thousand two hundred fifty three runners completed Saturday’s 11th Cap City Half marathon, in addition to participants in the Patron Quarter Marathon and Commit to Be Fit 5K events.  It was a great event for Ohio.  The HeartHealth Doctors have posted information about heart function and exercise.  Exercise such as running can be the ultimate way to multitask for heart health by managing stress, getting to or keeping goal weight, improving cholesterol profile, and reducing high blood pressure. Exercise has been shown to impact diabetes risk and can assist diabetes management.  Research shows being more active is key to heart health; walking is an excellent way to exercise.  Walking 10 minutes twice daily gets you close to the recommended guidelines for physical activity (150 minutes per week of moderate (means heart rate increases, but you can have a conversation)).

The American College of Cardiology’s Cardiosmart resource has great information about how to Move More. Being active directly impacts numerous risk factors for heart disease.

Heart Health professionals are responding to the evidence of heart health benefits of exercise and athletics.  Sports Cardiology is a section of the American College of Cardiology and provides an area for Cardiovascular Specialists (doctors who treat heart and vascular disease) to help people be active.  Someone wanting to be active could be a professional athlete, a young person, someone who participated in sports at school and now wants to return to competition, or patients who have completed cardiac rehabilitation programs and want to continue to develop their exercise regimen with the goal of improving their heart health.  The membership in the Sports Cardiology section of the American College of Cardiology has grown from 150 in 2011 to > 4000 members.  Cardiologists are working to promote the benefits of exercise, balanced with modifying/reducing risks athletes may face.

The half marathon run May 3 had an Ohio feel to it; weather ranging from cool temperature, warmer temperature, intermittent grey skies, intermittent rain, some sunshine.  There were great crowds, creative signs for encouragement, good music from bands, DJ’s, and the help of many many volunteers.  It was a well run event (!) and sets the stage for the U.S.A. Men’s and Women’s National Half Marathon Championships coming to Cap City in 2016, 2017.  You don’t have to be a national champion runner to get benefit from exercise; use a tracker to check your steps (> 22,000 yesterday!), or commit to someone (or a group) who want/s to be more active.  Yesterday ~11,955 total event participants at the Cap City Half / Patron Quarter Marathon / Commit to Be Fit 5K – did great heart health multitasking.