Mark Hargraves

People who are more physically active tend to live longer or they die later.

There's a debate as to whether lifespan increases, but certainly healthspan, the time that you're functionally in great shape, is certainly better when you're more active.

So I think...

a general awareness around health and wellbeing and physical activity is a very important lifestyle behaviour that's part of that mix.

So, you know, and there'll always be interest in that.

Strava is one app.

My premise would be everyone should be physically active.

If the motivation, because there is an argument that there are pressures for us to be inactive.

And when we evolved, we had to be active.

These days, you don't have to work very hard to be completely inactive.

And so if an influencer influences you to be more active, that's a good thing.

I think the important part of that is to say, well, if the ultimate goal is to run a marathon and I don't run a marathon, but I run a really good 10 kilometer or I run a half marathon, then you shouldn't see that as a failure.

because you've increased your physical activity.

And we know going from no activity to a little bit more activity has some of the greatest benefits from a population health perspective.

So I think being realistic, the danger is if you become so obsessed on the marathon,

as the, as the endpoint, um, that can perhaps lead to, uh, an obsession that, that could potentially be harmful if you are over, overtraining without the appropriate preparation, the appropriate nutritional support, um, that you need.

Setting goals and obtaining goals is an important part of people's self-esteem and feelings of self-worth as well.

I think it's important there that if you don't quite make the marathon or you don't run as fast as you'd like, then don't see that as a failure necessarily.

There's no question.

I mean, there are risks in everything we do.