Chasing the Runner’s High

Most runners fixate on the tangible, bodily aspects of running. Physical acts of further & faster are measurable ways to assess one’s progress in the sport, making them the frequent sole attributes of growth. 

What if we stopped separating mind & spirit from the body in sports? What if we took athletics as a full-body engagement, which it always had been regardless of our mindfulness towards that reality? Finding that deep, nourishing connection to self in time will produce a stronger, more resilient athlete.

Take a moment here. 

Think about one of your favorite running moments or times of movement. What did that feel like within you? What energy were you attracting and giving off? How did you register pain and progress? Sit with that experience, and relive how it felt. 

For some, this may be a race you did or a faster run, but often it may be a run where it just clicked; it’s hard to explain it as more than that. The air felt fresher, the ground gave you more bounce, the distance ticked away smoothly, you felt stable in your stride, and your heartbeat was a metronome keeping you in sync. Isn’t this what we are chasing? The runner’s high.

This feeling of a running high, isn’t it just a running connection? 

When we intend to be in our body, with mind & spirit, through acting on it, we achieve euphoria, simultaneously being relaxed & excited, optimistic, confident & proud. 

What if our fixation on going further & faster is hindering us from experiencing a runner’s high? What if we let go of those expectations and lean into being present on the run in mind, body & spirit? This is how we achieve the runner’s high.