I Know Why Students Jog

              By Vic Odarve

Every Thursday morning at 7 am! It is a jogging time. Security people check the girl’s and boy’s hostels if somebody is still in their rooms or quarters. All must voluntarily leave their rooms and join the weekly jogging. It is traditionally a minimum 3-km run affair; that is all students must jog at least 3 kilometers in an oval playground. Around 5,000 qualified students must join the jogging as part of their school fitness program. This is integrating physical activity into the school curriculum. Sound body means sound mind!

Caritas University, Enugu State,Nigeria

This is the picture of the student’s life at Caritas University, Enugu State, Nigeria. Uniquely African way of academic life! We seldom saw likely thousands of students lined up once a typical week for the jogging activity in a private university. After few possible minutes of an important announcement, the game started by stretching exercises evidently to gently loosen their muscles prior jogging proper.

Jogging is a slow pace running and virtually all the students can do it. Some do it to get in shape, stay fit, and have fun. But most participants do it for fun, indeed, imagining themselves to be one of the thousand students doing a circuitous route in a campus playground. And they enjoy themselves! Their faces show a thousand smiles! This is also a part of their social activity and camaraderie.

The private school, on the other hand, sincerely believes that regular exercise enhances the student’s mental well-being along with their physical health. In fact, numerous studies indicate that student’s academic achievement and physical fitness are positively related. Jogging also increases life span and typically reduces an aging effect, fights obesity and high cholesterol level, and improves tremendously study level concentrations.

Thus, the school teaches the students the importance of physical fitness, incorporate regular exercise as part of their lives and jogging as the main exercise. In this unique way, students are kept fit, active, and healthy.

Instantly seeing thousands of radiant faces smiling as these students jogging their way along the university oval playground of Caritas University is something to behold. This is a fun run for a cause in some active part of the developed world!

Now I undoubtedly know why these typical student’s jog!

 

      

 

 

Thanks for watching.