Any other runners?

[weston.nathan]

I've been living in China for 2 months now, and I'm settling in for two semesters of teaching at a University. Back in the U.S., I loved running to keep in shape, but before I came here, many people warned me that running in China's polluted air would "do more harm than good." Is this just an exaggeration? I tried looking up information online and didn't find anything useful. I don't want to do myself a lot of harm by running in the air - but aren't people just exaggerating and being dramatic? Any info anybody has will help! Thanks.

[Guest]

You will have absolutely no problem, Nathan. In fact, I run all the time.

[moll]

hey! I run everyday and have to say that there is no risk running in China's air - polluted or not! I live in Lianyungang and I don't think it will be much different from Zhenjiang. One thing you probably want to pay attention to: don't overstress yourself with running. Because of the high temperature and the humidity here, it is easy for some newcomers to get dehydrated. It happened to me when I first came. So just watch out for that and you should be happy and fit!

I've been living in China for 2 months now, and I'm settling in for two semesters of teaching at a University. Back in the U.S., I loved running to keep in shape, but before I came here, many people warned me that running in China's polluted air would "do more harm than good." Is this just an exaggeration? I tried looking up information online and didn't find anything useful. I don't want to do myself a lot of harm by running in the air - but aren't people just exaggerating and being dramatic? Any info anybody has will help! Thanks.

[jj]

umm..lianyugang might not be that bad in terms of pollution but there are some cities where it would not be a good idea to regularly run on the street with the cars polluting the air right next to you. personally, i prefer fitness centers or indoor sport facilities

hey! I run everyday and have to say that there is no risk running in China's air - polluted or not! I live in Lianyungang and I don't think it will be much different from Zhenjiang. One thing you probably want to pay attention to: don't overstress yourself with running. Because of the high temperature and the humidity here, it is easy for some newcomers to get dehydrated. It happened to me when I first came. So just watch out for that and you should be happy and fit!

I've been living in China for 2 months now, and I'm settling in for two semesters of teaching at a University. Back in the U.S., I loved running to keep in shape, but before I came here, many people warned me that running in China's polluted air would "do more harm than good." Is this just an exaggeration? I tried looking up information online and didn't find anything useful. I don't want to do myself a lot of harm by running in the air - but aren't people just exaggerating and being dramatic? Any info anybody has will help! Thanks.

[Will]

From a medical perspective, gulping in polluted air may be a cause of your asthmatic symptoms. Increased pollutants in air increase opportunities for an asthma episode. Most expatriates that I know can tolerant well the urban air in various Jiangsu cities and the air seems not to be causing big probelms.

My suggestion is that if you are an occasional runner or do not run heavily each time, just go ahead. It will be all fine. But if you are an endurance runner and run a long distance everyday, you'd better be taking procautions, say, using a face mask or an air purifier during the winter.

The situations of the air pollution in Jiangsu are different among cities. In the cities of Yancheng, Liangungang and Nantong, the air quality is still good and much better than others as they are coastal cities and less industrializated. Zhenjiang, Suqian, Huai'an are fine, in my opinion.

Good luck Nathan!

[rob]

Hi Nathan, you raised an interesting question. I did a review from some sources and the followings are results to help me know more as well.

One research carried out in Hong Kong showed that exercise impacts are different in highly polluted air or less-polluted air. For children lived/attended school in the less-polluted district, exercises help them with a positive association with their cardiopulmonary fitness but do not for kids who lived/attended school in more polluted school. The research is only an epidemiological one but didn't explain why or how.

The Summer time or a warm/humid air are more easy to trap the pollutants in air.

The most common Pollutants include ozone, carbon monoxide, microscopic particles, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, dusts... Many of them are from cars.

Some suggestions may need to adopt:
1. run in the morning when pollution level and heat are at the lowest
2. avoid running next to busy highways or busy streets, particularly during the evening rush hours
3. cut back the intensity of your workouts in polluted air
4. workout indoors in fitness ctr

The above may provide a help. But anyway you are not an athlete. Zhenjiang is a city less polluted anyway, compared to Nanjing and Shanghai.

[weston.nathan]

Thanks for all the great information. I've been running in the mornings and I feel great - I think the air in Zhenjiang is definitely better than more major cities in China. Now if we could just do something about the heat ...

[Guest]

Thanks for all the great information. I've been running in the mornings and I feel great - I think the air in Zhenjiang is definitely better than more major cities in China. Now if we could just do something about the heat ...

get a fan

[iamsaying1]

the autumn is coming and the weather is surely cooling down. it should be no problem now for running in the morning.