Runner's High

How to achieve a Runner's High
K. Aleisha Fetters

"Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't. But we always want it - and more of it. It's the runner's high, and when we are lucky enough to tap into it, our runs feel easy, exhilarating, even euphoric. But we aren't always that lucky, are we?
Recently, researchers studied how the brain responds to running and found that the ability to get "high" while logging miles might be hard-wired within us. Years ago, our ancestors' survival likely depended on chasing down food. The desire to live was possibly their motivation to run and run fast, and the feel-good brain chemicals released when they did so may have helped them achieve the speed and distances required, says David A. Raichlen, Ph.D., an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. The runner's high may have served (and serves today) as a natural painkiller, masking tired legs and blistered feet, he says.
Even though you no longer have to chase down dinner, learning how happy brain reactions are sparked may help you achieve the runner's high more often."

Today I sit down with Katie Rose Sullivan to discuss the neural mechanisms underlying the Runner's High.

2015 Berlin Marathon - wikimedia.com

The Runner's High

Music is provided by http://freemusicarchive.org/ - Andy Cohen - "Trophy Endorphin" and offered by the Creative Commons License

Natural High

Are you stressed? Feeling blue? Or just looking for a pick-me-up? Try nature's homebrewed heroin or morphine - endorphins! But aren't those illegal you ask? NO, you're body makes them, that's why they are endogenous opioids. Don't worry about the DEA or or local police knocking down your door while you're getting this high? But wait what is the product, if your body naturally creates them. Well the product is running! Seriously, go out and run, push yourself - hard, but not too hard. Endorphins are painkillers produced in response to physical discomfort. But we're not talking about getting high on just one drug, we're talking about getting high, through running, on two drugs. Endocannabinoid - the body's natural THC analog is produced in response to stress as opposed to pain (the stronger endorphin activator). On a run though, you can't differentiate physical stress from discomfort which means the same mechanism that triggers endorphins can also trigger endocannabinoids. So go out and get high, a Natural High from running.

Disclaimer: This is a work of satire. In the tradition of A Prairie Home Companion, this ad, among others, will form the backbone of the underwriting and sponsorship of my podcast.

Breaking the Brain's Finish Line

Most of the time, the brain's governor on our abilities is a good thing, it stops us from injuring ourselves and others. But sometimes we want to take the governor off and just go, especially if the governor is set at a fairly conservative level. Many events in running push various physiological processes to their extreme, from the 400/800 overloading lactic acid production to the marathon pushing carbohydrate stores to their bare minimum. Today I'll speak with Dylan Geringer about how we can take findings from neuroscience to improve our running performance.

wikimedia.com

Your Brain on Running
Dylan's Twitter

Music is provided by http://freemusicarchive.org/ - Questionmark Embargo - "Storm Riding" and offered by the Creative Commons License

Runner's Wheel

Have you ever been out on a run and lost total track of time, where you've entered a rhythm so steady, so perfect that you ignore anything and everything. Have you found that you go faster during these states? Any run without that sense of time is better than those runs on the treadmill or runs where you check your watch every 2 seconds to only be reminded that you have miles upon miles to go. Well worry no more with the runner's wheel you'll never know the time or your pace. The Runner's Wheel is a watch that trains you to your pace rather than being a slave to an electronic manacle on your wrist that drags down your effort, your pace and your enthusiasm. By giving you false and unreliable feedback, the Runner's Wheel only gives your true time and pace at the end of your run so that you can run by feel. The Runner's Wheel is only to be used in conjunction with routes that you can run continuously for your entire run. Break free from times and your brain's subjective effort and reach your true potential.

Disclaimer: This is a work of satire. In the tradition of A Prairie Home Companion, this ad, among others, will form the backbone of the underwriting and sponsorship of my podcast.