Running – The great healer

We all know that running is good for our health. Anyone who has looked beyond what western science has told us will know that we were quite simply born to run. We are one of those mammals that have been created with all the correct biomechanical traits to allow us to run.

Long distance running lifts our endorphin levels and fills us with the happy substances in our brain that ultimately lifts our mood. Many people get even happier when they see that their weight is dropping or plateauing as a result of their running – this subject is however probably best tackled in an independent post.

Running has been known to not only repair physical damage that we have done to our bodies (weight gain etc), but also mental and emotional strain. Recently I have been talking to numerous people about why they run and many have listed the primary reason as being so that they would stop thinking about a particular problem in their lives.

The amount of people that are running from the bottle or from cigarettes or drugs is quite phenomenal. These folks have problems with the aforementioned substances, but through using running as a tool, they have either been able to substitute one addiction for another or been able to silence the cravings that they had through lifting their endorphin or pain levels through the long run.

I can attest to the fact that running can take one’s mind off of painful issues. I went through a relationship breakup a few years back and at the time all that I could do to work through the emotional pain etc was to run and run. Admittedly I had cultivated an unhealthy addiction to running in that I was running at all hours and three or four times a day. Quite simply I wanted to run myself to exhaustion. This did not happen and although I saw good results initially, I now know that this is not a good way of training and that structure is much better. Still I am without doubt that running helped me through this period and as I said to friends the other night, I am waiting for the next tough breakup to run those insane distances again. Fear not though as I am single at present, there is no danger of a breakup or any overtraining.

Would be very interested to hear from others as to experiences they have with regards to long distance running as a healer. – Sean Muller