Here's an abstract of an interesting study where they done an MRI scan of marathon runners knees, then 10 years later, did another one. Only one participant had any knee degeneration in those 10 years...& that person gave up running! This is a really interesting study as so many people advise against running as they "wreck the knees". I'd like have had a few more details, have the BMI of the athletes would have been ace & having a range of people with different BMI to see how weight affects running would have been awesome! Maybe something for later. For now I still think bigger people (whether fat or muscular) should be a little cautious about distance running as I suspect these people studied will probably be below average BMI, but if your knees are fine & running doesn't affect them adversely, then there seems no reason not to include a few miles (say 10Km or so) a few times a week.
This study has made me think about running slightly differently as I was kind of in the mindset that longer distances (that I used to run) where not so good for you...but now, well maybe not!
For those who don't like reading studies here's a link to blog that simplifies the whole thing down (where I first noticed it).
Here's another useful study that compares knees of older runners & non-runners over several years.
And finally Here's a quick 5 minute piece of audio where they discuss the (very) basics of the study.
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