The whole "running destroys your knees" thing is a very persistent myth. Running can cause temporary knee injuries, especially in beginners. In the long run it actually strengthens your knees. There has been quite a lot of research on this but unfortunately, it's still in the cultural zeitgeist that running is bad for your knees

Of course, every person is different. Anecdotally, my knees and hips are so much stronger now than they were 15 years ago after running over 20k miles.