What is a “Runner’s High” and how do you explain it?

Question

Deena Kastor · Answer

Michael, what a great question. I've been running for 38 years and can count on my two hands. The time I have felt the runner's high and really me. I csikszentmihalyi is the psychologist that coined the term flow or runner's high and it is when your mind and body are operating at 100%. It doesn't happen very often. But when it does you feel like you can run hard Forever Without tiring. It is such a euphoric feeling. That's not to discredit the thousands of other experiences that have you feel the endorphins and the good Rush that running has to give. So keep chasing that high.

Dr. Aaron Baggish, MD · Answer

Hey, Michael. Dr. Baggish here. Saw your question about the runner's high and loved it. So I think if we're asking what is a runner's high and how do you explain it, there's two things to think about. One, there's what's happening at the biochemical level in the brain. And the second is why we are evolutionarily designed to have this experience. So simply put, the runner's high is a feeling of euphoria invincibility, if you will, that comes either during or immediately after a run. And within the brain there's a whole long list of chemicals that are released that probably contributed to it. Serotonin, dopamine, endocannabinoids, these are all things that scientists have looked at and have been shown to correlate with that feeling. And indeed, it really is brain chemistry that explains it. For me, what's similarly interesting is why we might experience this from an evolutionary perspective. And if you think about it, the concept of having a breakthrough euphoria during extended exercise may have been something that allowed us to persevere over many millions of years as hunters or as animals that were chased and needed to escape. So there's probably something that we selectively evolved to do, and that is to have this feeling of invincibility or euphoria during hard workouts in order to get us through and to complete the task at hand. Hope that helps.

Siri Lindley · Answer

Hey guys. So I've been asked what is runner's high to me. Runner's. High is when you reach that point usually later on in your run, we're all you are is present with your body and the ground beneath you and it feels effortless. It, is that feeling that we all look for during a run? It's, when you are enjoying it, the most because you're fully present and feeling like it's no effort at all.

Petr Vabrousek · Answer

Runner's. High is an excellent feeling which you only get when your actual running is bringing. You pure joy, and no pain. Don't expect to get your runner's high in being beginner Runner. It takes a while while your body adapts to more and more running and faster and faster running and it never comes to easy and it never comes to often. So I would say I've been there many times but maybe only out of all my runs. Maybe 10% of those. I get something like a runner's high and simply said both are the best runs you achieve where you for a while feel weightless and just flowing through the are barely touching the road. And it usually happens in a situation when you are running faster, when you expect it at the same effort, level. So you are well tapered. If that happens in a race itself. It's very often. Also result of running better than you expected in that field. So runner's high is something to really aim for but be ready to do many many miles without it. For actually reaching it.

Emma Pallant-Browne · Answer

So for me, the runner's high is just that feeling when you are running well and it just feels effortless. It feels like you're floating. I think when you're swimming hard, well, when I'm swimming hot, it's always still like an effort. I never find that magical spot where I feel like I'm just speeding through the water with like just everything is at one and same thing on the bike when you're going well and you're pushing hard, like everything hurts like your gritty and your whereas I find sometimes when Running your fastest. You can just be on those clouds. You can be floating along. You can just everything works as one and everything is just yeah, it's your time. And and you feel great and I think it just feels to me the purest form of sport. It was what we were made to do. It's what we ya function. Well at and no equipment needed. Yeah, it's the runner's high. It's just being able to be in your own world and just the adrenaline that you get from that and they're feel good that you get the from that, I don't think sometimes I don't think you can explain it in words, but it's a Feeling.

Jodie Swallow · Answer

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"What is a “Runner’s High” and how do you explain it?"