Runners High

When I was young, I was a middle-distance runner, half-mile and mile and I was good at it, but I trained hard. Every day and every weekend I would go out and run. When I was training and running on the weekends I would run a marathon and I enjoyed it and it was fun. At the time we did not know about the runners high. 

"'Runner's high' is a phrase that we use to describe the feelings of psychological well-being that are associated quite often with long-duration, rhythmic-type exercise, and marathon running certainly falls into that category," says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise.

Why runners high make an athlete feel good, and what's happening in the body when those positive feelings wash over a person, however, it is anyone's guess.

"For a long time, people believed the answer lay within the whole endorphin argument -- with the long-duration exercise you release endorphins, which have a morphine-like effect on the body and therefore may be responsible for the feelings of well-being," Bryant suggested,

Why runners high make an athlete feel good, and what's happening in the body when those positive feelings wash over a person, however, is anyone's guess.

"For a long time, people believed the answer lay within the whole endorphin argument -- with the long-duration exercise you release endorphins, which have a morphine-like effect on the body and therefore may be responsible for the feelings of well-being," Bryant suggested.

While it's a good theory, Bryant explains it doesn't necessarily hold water.

"While our circular levels of endorphins might be up, whether that impacts a person's psychological outlook output directly is probably not that likely," says Bryant. "In some studies, when the effects of endorphins have been blocked chemically, people have still experienced this high, so the whole endorphin argument has been called into question."

With endorphins largely out of the picture, researchers have looked at other types of neurotransmitters that might have a role in affecting a person's mood. 

At this point there are a number of theories about what gives athletes the “runners high” but my point is that a “runner's high” doesn't come from just thinking about running. Same thing for a manifester's high. If you want the experience, and thrill of a runners high start running: on your mark, get set GO!