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Eithne Shortall: Why I’ve joined the running battle to keep ageing at bay

If you want to keep fit and healthy as you get older, you’ve got to move with the times – literally

Engaging in regular physical activity is the best way to optimise your health. Picture: Radka Janouskovcova/Getty

I have recently returned to running. It had been three years since I’d last pounded the pavements and I got quite the shock when my lungs threatened to give up after the first two kilometres. Maybe it was just one kilometre, actually, but it felt like two.

Don’t worry. I am not going to spend the next 800 words smugly extolling the virtues of exercise and bragging about how I’ve essentially found God through sweat. ...