All of us have heard of people banging on about the ‘runners high’ and how great they feel after a long run. I am one of those people who stands by these statements and frequently uses them myself.
Since I came to long distance running, my life has changed in many positive ways. Aside from the fact that I have lots heaps of weight and come down to a low of 6% body fat (currently around 8%), my mental outlook on life has changed significantly.
Whereas before I was content to just move through life along with the majority of people, I now feel that my life has real purpose – I have been able to find that which I enjoy more than most other things on the planet and in so doing reacquaint myself with a spiritual side of my life.
For me the best way to connect with my higher power is to hit the roads or trails on a Sunday morning and run for a good couple of hours. Immediately when I step out onto the road it is as if I am running with the earth and am truly part of the earth. There can simply be no other way of describing it – even if I have a slight twinge of pain, I still find that I am smiling at just how serene and peaceful life is. Running for me is just one of those animalistic inherent tendencies that we as humans have. Contrary to what alot of people may assert, it is just unnatural for us not to be running. We were quite simply born to run!
The gym just does not seem to do it for me and hence why I have been feeling a little claustrophobic over the past few days with the inclement weather that we have been experiencing in Sydney.
Running more so than any other exercise activity has that ability to induce a catatonic state in most people. That feeling of one foot in front of the other the rhythmic breathing and sound of your feet gliding over the ground is not rivalled by any other sport that I am aware of.
Science has proven that an hour into any particular run, sufficient endorphins will have been released by the body to produce that pleasurable experience and feeling which we colloquially call ‘the runners high’. These endorphins will continue to be released through the run and continue to produce a pleasure state for some time. This accounts for the reason why following a marathon race or longer we still bear those stupid grins for a few days.
Now I ask you - if running more than an hour produces happiness in a bottle for free, then why are we not doing more of it as a society? There is nothing left to say except 'Go forth and run!' – Sean Muller
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