Start Running If You Want To Save America

Athletic company Mizuno has taken a different approach with their newest marketing campaign, and they've called in the science guns to help. In partnership with the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School, the company has conducted a full study on the impact of increased running on America and have integrated those findings into their newest online campaign (or movement, if you will...), If Everybody Ran.

Mizuno, a favorite of a certain Texas female gubernatorial candidate, began by posing one question to the UNC MBA students, “How would the nation change if everybody in America ran?”

The resulting report measured not only the health benefits of running, but also analyzed how the social, relational, and economic wellness of the country would change if all 270 million of us turned off Netflix and hit the pavement. Their theory was that increased running would not only positively affect waistlines, but all parts of a person’s life and the nation as a whole.

"Runners understand and see first-hand the positive effect running has on their lives," said Fritz Taylor, VP/GM of Mizuno Running. "Knowing the effect of running on our lives, we couldn't help but wonder what the macro impact would be if more and more people started adding running to their lives."

Insert inspirational video of marathon running senior citizens to make you feel bad for spending all weekend in bed:

Though positive results were to be expected, the numbers are still pretty eye-opening. According to Mizuno, if every American person began a regular running routine, we could possibly see:

• up to 48 million fewer cigarettes smoked daily
• 20 million more grandmothers
• $130 billion saved in health care
• total weight loss among Americans of be nearly 2 billion pounds
• household earning potential could rise by 10 percent

...and more.

The Mizuno microsite ifeverybodyran.com has a full list of study results and will feature an online community of runners sharing their stories of how running has changed their lives. The company will also be supporting Back on My Feet, a 501(c)(3) organization that uses the transformative power of running to elevate homeless individuals out of poverty through the discipline, focus, and determination developed via a consistent running regimen.

Now, a little commerce will go hand in hand with all this community — of course. Mizuno will be unveiling their new lightweight running shoe line in conjunction with If Everybody Ran, and the company is partnering with Runner’s World magazine to develop starter kits for newbie runners. The kits labeled Mezamashii — or “brilliant” in Japanese — will be sold in select stores.

Well done, Mizuno: You've simultaneously contributed to science, and made me browse your womenswear section for 20 minutes. I guess I’ll take a jog around the block tomorrow morning, for the good of the nation.