If you’ve resolved to quit smoking this year, a newly expanded program that aims to turn smokers into runners may be the answer.

The Canadian Cancer Society, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Running Room have partnered to launch Run to Quit, a 10-week program that will offer running sessions and coaching on how to kick your tobacco habit for good.

The Public Health Agency will invest $5 million to launch the program across the country over the next three year

Run to Quit started out as a pilot project in Ottawa in 2013. Six months after it ended, 28 per cent of participants had quit smoking, said John Atkinson, the Canadian Cancer Society’s director of tobacco control.

The cessation rate was seven times higher than among those who quit cigarettes cold turkey, he said.

The outcome was “really, really positive, so much so that we were thrilled with the results and we wanted to continue the work,” Atkinson told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.”

The above is excerpted from http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/want-to-quit-smoking-try-running-new-program-urges-1.2735846.  Read the full details of this promising program that is available at the over 100 Running Room stores in Canada, as well as on line.