Running pays off in better health

To the editor:

I read Sam Blackwell's recent column about running. I can totally relate. For about the first year of my running not only did I have the traffic and scenery to distract me, I could also listen to plea-bargaining talks between my legs, lungs and brain. My body was begging to quit while my brain assured all other parts that a book promised running was a good thing and would make us healthy and serenely at one with the universe.

That was 15 years ago, and I am healthier, although I still get an occasional bad vibe from somewhere in my universe. Keep running, Sam, stay healthy and I'll see you on the streets.

DAVE HARDESTY, Cape Girardeau