It's better to run as a non-root user, and use the CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE capability (see capabilities(7)) to allow only the minimal privileges necessary to bind to a low-numbered port. A lot of Linux admins are unaware that this is the modern best practice for running applications securely.

Starting as root for the sole purpose of binding to a low-numbered port and then dropping privileges is an outdated practice that is both difficult to program correctly and arguably unnecessary today.