IT has been said time and time again how beneficial sport and any type of exercise is for not only our physical health, but our mental health as well.
Bunbury runner John Collingridge confessed to the Mail that running has always helped him shake off the blues.
At 68-years-old, Mr Collingridge is this year celebrating fifty years of running and said no matter what challenges life had thrown at him, running had always kept his morale up in life.
"I started running at 18-years-old. I was one of those weedy adolescents in high school who didn't do any exercise except when I was made to do it," Mr Collingridge laughed.
A graduate from the University of Western Australia, Mr Collingridge said it was when he attempted to join the campus regiment in the 1970s that he was told how unfit he was.
"I really wanted to join the regiment so I started running through Kings Park to get fit. At first I thought I was going to die because of how painful it was. But I chipped away at it."
Mr Collingridge first came to Bunbury in 1982 where he won a half marathon held by the Bunbury Runners Club.
He officially joined the club in 1987 after competing in the Bunbury Surf to Surf Fun Run.
Bunbury Runners Club President Fiona Collins said Mr Collingridge had been an understated club member who added a big sense of comradery amongst the runners.
"John is a big part of the club. He runs every Thursday and really contributes to making the club an inclusive, safe space," Ms Collins said.
Opening over forty years ago, the Bunbury Runners Club has over 180 members and meets every Thursday for runners of all skill levels.
Ms Collins said that as soon as the runners from the club put on their runners clothes, they are no longer a cleaner or a CEO of a bank, but all equals.
"At the Bunbury Runners Club we're on the run to health, friendship and safety. Together we can do this."
Mr Collingridge said being in the club had allowed him to form life-long friendships with like minded people.
"I really enjoy being a member of the Bunbury Runners Club. People who run generally have very positive personalities and are dynamic and full of vitality. I just get really positive energy from being around people like that."
Mr Collingridge also refers to himself as a 'David Attenborough', saying there is a big problem in Bunbury with plastic pollution.
"On my runs I make a practice of picking up any rubbish I see on the ground and putting it in the bin. This avoids any rubbish being blown into our water ways and affecting both our marine and bird life."
To celebrate his 50th year of running, Mr Collingridge led a run on March 18 from the Bunbury Runners Club and along the Leschenault Inlet.
Bunbury sea shanty group the Anchormen, which Mr Collingridge is also a member of, sang sea shanties for the Club in further celebration.
Mr Collingridge said the performance gained the Anchormen an audience that the group didn't have before.
"For the run I invited all the people I'd ever run with since first coming to Bunbury. Everyone bought nibbles and we all had a drink. As I started the run, the Chariots of Fire theme song was playing in the background. I couldn't have wished for it to go any better."
Mr Collingridge said running had grown in popularity over the last 50 years but suggested more people to take it up as a form of regular exercise for the mental and physical benefits.
"Running is a cheap assurance for good, long term health. I wouldn't say I've had an easy path through life, but running has always been there to make me feel so much lighter and alive."
To further celebrate half a century of running, Mr Collingridge is planning to run the perimetre of King's Park which marks the first run he did whilst studying at the University of Western Australia, 50 years ago.
"It's been touch and go making fifty years but I made it. Running has not only made me feel young and active, but it has also really helped my mental health. Running has been one of my very best friends in life."
To join the Bunbury Runners Club, visit the clubs Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bunburyrunnersclub/.
Runners meet weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.