More about running

I mentioned previously that according to the USATF(track and field) last year there were 30 million runners in our country. Compared to all other sports added together that trivializes the other sports or actions that may be called exercise sports. I wonder if all other fun activities of we humans were added to exercise sports such as cross word puzzles, card playing, chess and all others other than reading, that running would still come out first.
Now consider this. As a species we have adopted the attitude that work or exercise should be avoided. The great criminal lawyer, Clarance Darrow once said he would defend a working man to the death but would never be one himself. For more periods of history than I like to imagine, humans have had slave societies for the haves and the have-nots were often the slaves. It is only more recently that males treated their mates as other than slaves and the women accepted it. Even today that reasoning seems to be evident with abusive males. On a shelf I have a line of running trophies. Each is someones idea of the perfect human male physic although once I was given a female trophy. Looking at the trophies I marvel at the fantastic anatomical structures each demonstrates. Visiting "rest" homes I see countless older humans dressed to cover those remarkable attributes. Why the inactivity? Many ethnic groups came to our land after having worked endless hours to provide the opportunity for their children to have opportunities the parents did not have. Four such groups come to mind. Italians, Irish, Chinese and Africans. Think of the scholars who are now Americans who are extractions of the four. Perhaps most of the offspring have had the attitude of working that they will not have to work their butts off like their parents did.
So, my thesis is that the above are a significant part of our population who profess to dislike it and therefore avoid exercise. If I am correct please tell me why the 30 million of us are runners. Once the attitude of avoiding exercise is accepted at a young age then that attitude seems to be reinforced all a persons life. I believe if once the average non-runner realizes he or she has the ability and the equipment to run, running may be tried. Once tried it will become so worthwhile in physical and mental health that the idea will sweep our country. Thinking ahead, with little or no Alzheimer's or strokes or much arthritis and with half the breast cancer in women and fewer heart attacks in all, the reduction in health costs will drop markedly. Consider this; if a small group of enterprising people were to get together and publish my book, "Come Run With Me," they would not only do a tremendous amount of good for our senior citizens but could benefit financially themselves. Please remember this, I started when completely out of shape when 80 years of age and now run regularly for the fun of it at over 90..