RUNNERS HIGH who experiences it, where it comes from, when it happens

So what exactly is a runners high? What is it and where does it come from? Who gets to experience it?

HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?

Have you ever gone for a run and felt like you had wings on your feet and any direction you happened to run, it felt like the wind was always at your back?

Have you ever been out running and had a surge of energy and "feel good" vibrations run right through you?

Have you ever been out running early on a clear Winter morning when your world was covered with a fresh blanket of snow and ice crystals gleamed in the crisp air and you felt just so lucky to experience this moment of solitude as your silent footfalls broke a new path in the powdery snow?

Have you ever had a training run that just felt so effortless that it left you feeling great all day?

There are many ways to experience a runners high and those are just a few of them. In many ways it is an emotional event that comes with doing something that is very good for you and recharges your life in so many ways.

OLYMPIC RUNNERS, TRACK RUNNERS, CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS AND YOU

Runners of all calibers and every type can experience a runners high. It is not something that is for only a select few.

If running is a passion for you than chances are you have--or one day soon -- will experience a runners high.

An Olympic runner might experience his high the moment he crosses the finish line to capture the gold medal.

The track runner might experience his runners high when he runs his fastest 800 meters ever.

A cross-country runner like experience it when he finds him self in the leading flight as they turn for home.

A new runner might experience a runners high for the first time when nothing hurts in the morning after a long training run. Perhaps it was that day that the new runner realizes that the body was accepting this new course they have set their life on.

WHEN YOU WILL NOT EXPERIENCE A RUNNERS HIGH

You most likely will not experience a runners high very often if you are constantly pushing yourself to run more and more often and further and further before your body is really ready for it.

It is more likely you will become over-tired, depressed, injured and worse yet, simply give up on running because it is simply too hard.

The only reason it is too hard is because you have not given your body time to adjust and ease into this new effort you are demanding from it.

A new runner, or any runner for that matter, is not likely to experience a positive high from constantly being physically stressed and sore.

If you find yourself in the later stages of a marathon and begin to crash into the mystical "wall" it is unlikely you will be experiencing a runners high on that day. You have not planned your marathon properly and your body is paying for it in a big way.

At this stage you will be about a million miles away from a runners high.

Take the very same marathon course a year later and you have taken the time perhaps to learn how to use a heart monitor and perhaps did a better job of tapering and resting leading into the big day.

All of a sudden at that very same spot where you crashed into the wall just one year ago, you are passing runners left and right. It just sends an uplifting surge of energy through you to realize you did things right and this is going to be "your" day.

Not only will you be experiencing a runners high at that moment, but most likely for many days following the marathon as well. In many ways that special "high" is achieved when we are doing everything right and our running experience is a positive one.

THE CHEMICAL REACTION PLAYS A HAND

From the outside looking in, running seems so tedious, it hurts, and no doubt it can be very exhausting. Yet despite all that the early 1980's in North America saw an explosion in running that continues unabated today.

So why do people run?

Many people run as a means to losing weight as studies have shown that aerobic exercise along with diet are the perfect tandem for burning excess fat. Not only does one lose weight but a growth of leaner tissue results as well.

Most likely the second most popular reason is the accessibility of running.

Then of course there are a multitude of health benefits to be reaped by taking up running on a regular basis.

Running is a big help when it comes to lowering blood pressure. For one reason it helps maintain more elasticity in the arteries.During the course of running, the arteries expand and contract a lot more than they normally would and this is what creates the elasticity and in turn means lower overall blood pressure.

Running will also help maximize the full potential of the lungs. Deep breathing means the lungs will use more of the 50% of our lungs that are normally not used. In many ways, this is what allowed me to quit smoking and in a few years of consistent running have my lungs working at full capacity. It was almost as if I had never smoked.

Apart from all these health benefits there is also the incredible high that runners can enjoy from their running efforts. Yes, runners do feel high from the obvious health benefits and successful competitions but there are also other chemical reactions taking place that play a big part in the runners high.

Many runners thrive on the euphoria they often feel after a good run and if many cases claim that this is what keeps them running.

Actually, the euphoria is created from a betaendorphin release that is triggered by nervous system neurons. It's initial intention is to ease the pain after a run, but at the same time it causes a mood and feeling of exhilaration that runners begin to crave. An many ways it's an addiction, but a positive one.

For many people running can create a turning point in their lives as it can replace addictions to alcohol, food, and at times, even food.

Running has a way of providing more energy for our daily lives and it also seems to provide a perfect balance of appetite, food and exercise and at the same time improves the ability to relax and sleep on a regular basis.

Regardless of the health benefits and euphoric highs "you" might realize from running, it's important to remember that running is the perfect form of fitness that one can develop for a life-time and it's only by embracing running as a regular part of your life that you will continue to realize these amazing benefits.

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