Over-40 Exercisers Urged to Go Running : Health: It is more beneficial than walking or any other aerobic exercise, fitness experts say. Among the rewards are lower blood pressure and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

WASHINGTON —  Don’t use hitting 40 as an excuse not to try running: Even if you’re not as vigorous as you used to be, you could be capable of a lot more than you think, experts say.

“Most people over the age of 40 can run without any apparent problem, even if they’ve been sedentary for a long period of time,” said D. Craig Huddy, who is coordinator of faculty and staff wellness programs at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Running has advantages over less intensive types of exercise, such as walking, fitness experts say.

“You can burn more calories and get more fitness and more loss of body fat in a given time if you jog than if you walk,” said Peter D. Wood of the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention in California.

“You probably get more exercise from running than almost any other easily available aerobic exercise,” said Ronald W. Smith, a Long Beach orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle problems.

Among the rewards are lower blood pressure and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, better muscle tone and, often, a brighter mood, he said.

The bottom line could be years of vigorous activity added to your life.

But before you start out, you may want to concede something to age and run to your doctor for a checkup and some advice.

Expect your doctor to encourage you to exercise, assuming that you are in good health. A Gallup survey found virtually unanimous agreement that most people over 40 don’t work out enough. The survey of 300 internists, family physicians and general practitioners also reported the doctors’ estimate that three of every four people over 40 never even ask about exercise.

A checkup weeds out those for whom running might be risky. Some people have heart, lung or joint problems that could keep them out of the running, Wood said. A stress test--jogging on exercise equipment while heart function is monitored--may turn up a problem, although it carries no guarantee, he said.

Aging brings a slightly greater likelihood of injuries, mostly to tendons and bones, said Smith. People with back problems should pull out quickly if they start to hurt, he said.

“Injuries (after 40) take more time to heal,” said Peter J. Bruno, internist for pro hockey’s New York Rangers and pro basketball’s New York Knicks. You can cut down on that by acting swiftly to make sure that small injuries don’t become aggravated, he said.

Don’t overestimate the risk.

“It’s not so much age. The worse your general physical condition when you start, the more gently you should start,” Wood said.

One needn’t worry overmuch about knees, he said. If you had good joints to start with, you can expect to keep them. Older runners who develop knee problems probably had problems earlier, and usually from other sports, Wood said.

As for arthritis, a study in which Wood participated found no greater risk in older runners than in nonrunners.

Bone is strengthened by stress. It’s only when stress is too great or too constant that injury results, Wood said. So the trick is to keep the exercise program below the risk level.

In Wood’s studies, starting exercisers begin by walking, then increased times and distances slowly over two to three months before they switched to a slow jog. Jogging distances started at 50 yards.

Older runners should thoroughly stretch, especially in the calf, before they go out, Smith said. He also recommended running on asphalt, which is softer than concrete. Grass is too uneven and therefore requires more work to keep the foot stable, he said.

And, Huddy said, be sure your shoes have plenty of shock absorption; people over 40 tend to put more weight on their feet.