Charge On Run Club members chat over drinks after completing their weekly run Friday outside Addition Financial Arena.
sarah quimby
Charge On Run Club, a new club not affiliated with UCF, promotes group training and camaraderie through weekly runs in different locations around campus.
The club was founded at the beginning of the fall semester by two friends, Aidan Chin, a senior marketing major, and Landon Craft, an associate computer science major. They both love running.
Charge On Rub Club founders Aidan Chin, a senior marketing major, and Landon Craft, a junior biochemistry major, discuss their motivations for starting their own club for students on campus.
sarah quimby
Chin said he started running because he was inspired by Kraft, but Kraft said he has been running most of his life.
“My father was a marathon runner,” Craft said. “As a kid, he always made me run and I always hated it. But when I came to college and tried to find my independence, I found comfort in running.”
After running countless times together, Chin and Craft decided to start their own club this semester, and after looking at various running clubs and not finding one that was right for them, they decided to look elsewhere. He said he wanted other people to get involved in this hobby.
“We wanted to run with more people and were looking at different clubs, but they all seemed very competitive and everyone already knew each other. There were thousands of people there,” Craft said. “So we decided to start a community ourselves and build a little community of people who wanted to get out here and run and meet each other and grow as people.”
Charge-on-run club members play with soccer balls after completing a 1.53-mile run Friday outside Addition Financial Arena.
sarah quimby
Chin said the fitness behind running is inspiring more people to get outside and be active.
A study conducted by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that in a 15-year study of more than 55,000 participants between the ages of 18 and 100, runners had lower rates of not only cardiovascular mortality but also all-cause mortality. It turned out to be 30% lower. Compared to non-runners, your risk is 45% lower and your life expectancy increases by 3 years.
In addition to research showing benefits for physical health, running has also been shown to improve mental health.
In multiple studies conducted by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers found a direct correlation between physical fitness and mental fitness. The study found that people who participated in sports in childhood had improved mental health in adolescence. This trend is increasingly seen in people who have participated in recreational or competitive sports for at least four years, the study showed.
Especially when it comes to activities like running, the study found an inverse relationship between cardiovascular fitness and depression scores. This means that the study said that people who participated in more aerobic exercise, which is exercise that promotes breathing and blood flow in the body, had lower levels of depression.
Charge-on-Run Club participants stretch their legs Friday after completing a 1.53-mile run around campus, starting at the UCF Global Building and circling the perimeter.
sarah quimby
Max Ramos, a freshman chemistry major and one of the club’s participants, talked about why running is fun and the benefits of joining a club dedicated to fitness and running.
“Running makes me feel good, and after I run I feel like I did something good for my body. I love that,” Ramos said.
Chin said the biggest psychological benefit from running is the escape from schoolwork and other challenges.
“A lot of times we lock ourselves in the library to study or do schoolwork,” Chin said. “So running gives everyone an excuse to get outside and enjoy nature.”
