To be completely honest, I was never much of an athlete growing up. Neither of my parents really excelled in sports either, so the athletic gene was never in my favor. In elementary school my parents signed me up for soccer only to have me chase after butterflies on the field or bench warm. In high school, I tried field hockey freshmen through junior year, but I never seemed to have the right hand-eye coordination and again, spent a lot of time on the bench. It wasn’t until winter of freshmen year that I discovered my love for running. I wouldn’t say I’m very fast, but I love the way it makes me feel. The farther I go the better I seem to feel about myself. As my indoor and outdoor track (and eventually cross country) seasons started to pile up, I began to hear of “runner’s high” more and more often. So what is runner’s high, and does it really exist?

Science says yes…kind of. As Jesse Pittsley from the American Society of Exercise Physiologists puts it, “psychologically, runners may experience euphoria, a feeling of being invincible, a reduced state of discomfort or pain, and eve a loss in sense of time while running”. As a person begins to run farther distances, certain chemicals such as dopamine, endorphins and serotonin are secreted throughout the body – all of which have been proven “to help reduce depression”.

Some may also argue that a raise in body temperature has a role in a “runner’s high”. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise, firmly believes that an “elevation in body temperature that is associated with these longer duration activities [as well as] through the hypothalamus, which is closely linked to temperature regulation mechanisms”. Bryant insists that an increase in body temperature is in direct correlation to an increase in attitude.

In high school, there would be times when I would finish my two mile race exhausted, but feeling ready enough to take on the one mile race directly after. However, during my first half marathon, there were times where I was overjoyed to be participating in the race itself and there were also times when I just wanted the race to be over with. Generally, the more you work out the more endorphins your body seems to produce. With this, the majority of runners you’ll meet will probably be higher on the happier, more optimistic spectrum.

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if reverse causation is involved. Could it be that happier people tend to run and that runner’s high is just a combination of being happy and exercising? Or can it simply be a correlation where the more you run the happier you are. What do you think?

Works Cited

“Does the Runner’s High Exist?.” Greatist. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://greatist.com/fitness/does-runners-high-exist>.