Congratulations to Joshua Jordan for starting the New London County Run Club. Its goal — to make running more social, more diverse and more fun — will surely increase the health and well-being of those who participate.

The new run club adds to New London’s great running history. Nineteen fifty-seven Boston Marathon winner and two-time U.S. Olympic Marathon runner John J. Kelley grew up in New London, where he attended Bulkeley High School. The annual road race honoring him starts and finishes at Ocean Beach Park. It is unique among all national-class road races in having no entry fee.

Readers of The Day may be interested to know that run clubs have become a global phenomenon in the post-COVID period. There are multiple explanations for this, summarized below in list fashion. Together, they provide good reasons to consider running as a personal fitness activity.

• COVID was clearly a blow against health, socialization and fitness. It particularly affected those who had worked out at gyms, which were closed. Some people simply stayed at home and fell off their exercise routine. However, others found that walking and running outdoors offered a safe, exhilarating experience.

• In the post-COVID era, gyms reopened, but many new walkers/runners wanted to continue their recently embraced activity. While they weren’t accustomed to entering organized races, they were eager to make new social connections.

A year ago, The New York Times published an article on casual running clubs. It noted: “Group running has exploded in New York City. As friendships, marriages and even rivalries emerge, the benefits are proving as social as they are physical.”

• Running is a conversational and food-sharing sport. All veteran runners observe the “talk test” on 90% of their runs. If you can’t talk easily, you’re running too fast. So slow down and offer a few words to the runner at your elbow. Whether at carb-loading dinners or breakfasts at Muddy Waters on Bank Street, runners get to know each other by eating together.

• Running is now a 50/50 sport by gender. Few women ran 30 years ago. Now they make up at least half of the running population. This makes running more social, equitable, family-centric and healthier in every regard.

• Running is the simplest, most accessible exercise. It requires no special skills or equipment — no pool, no bicycle, no backhand stroke, no proficiency with the 9-iron. We all learned to run in early childhood. Even before that, humans evolved to be efficient walkers and runners.

• Walking is a great exercise, but running is more time efficient. This is particularly important to those in their busy midlife years. Worldwide health organizations recommend that adults spend 150 minutes a week in moderate exercise (walking), or 75 minutes in vigorous exercise (running).

Even slow running counts as vigorous exercise since running lifts the body off the ground with each stride, while walking permits gliding along as if on roller skates. Lifting burns many more calories than gliding.

• Everyone has heard that runners get injured a lot. This is true. But the injuries are mostly soft-tissue aches and pains that heal in several days to several weeks.

• Everyone also believes that running is bad for the knees and hips. This is not true. Runners have no more osteoarthritis than non-runners (and possibly less), because they maintain a healthy weight and strong leg muscles.

• The decades from 40 to 60 are the most dangerous decades. This is when many Americans gain a pound a year, and get less exercise. The effects are barely noticeable at 41. They are very noticeable at 61 — when you are 20 pounds heavier, and out of shape. Don’t fall into this trap. You can use running to stay fit during these crucial decades.

• The running advantage grows stronger with each passing year. A famous study showed that senior runners at Stanford University reached a stage of “initial disability” 16 years later than non-runners in the same excellent Stanford healthcare system. As the two groups continued aging, the runners extended the disability gap even more.

• All successful aging strategies include exercise, weight control and socialization among their golden principles. Running encompasses all three.

• The father of aerobic exercise, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, once noted: “We don’t stop exercising because we get old. We get old because we stop exercising.” Think about it. Maybe you should give running a chance.

• Start slow, stay slow and add distance very gradually. Seek out friends, run clubs and fun runs to increase your motivation. Your future self will thank you.

To find other fun runs in southeastern Connecticut, check out the www.snerro.com website. Click on “Schedule,” then on “2024 Fun Run Schedule.” All runs are free and welcoming.

Amby Burfoot is the 1968 Boston Marathon winner, former executive editor of Runner’s World magazine and 61-time finisher of the Manchester Road Race. He lives in Mystic.