Torturous High

A rush you have to earn

By: Grace Eaton

Photo of Andrew Oslin running at track practice on May 14, 2024 // Photo by Grace Eaton

Short breaths, elevated heart rate, leg pain and calf cramps. Why do we run?

Running is one of the more common and accessible forms of exercise. You don’t need a gym membership or special equipment, you can do it alone and at whatever time works best for you. 

For many, running is seen as a brutal form of movement that takes discipline and willpower. Some think running distances greater than a mile is a natural ability, or that it’s strange to run for long periods because of the endurance it takes. But one of running’s best-kept secrets is the high that may accompany or follow the activity, feeling different for each individual who experiences it.

Runner’s high does not happen to everyone, with many athletes reporting that they have never felt that light blissfulness that some report. 

Anni Mayor, 21, a Western Washington University senior and lacrosse club captain, has experienced runner’s high many times. As a lifelong athlete, Mayor has always run as part of her sports, which include soccer, lacrosse, and various races including a half-marathon in April 2023.   

“My whole body just felt good. Nothing was sore. I felt hydrated and fueled. I felt like I could run forever,” Mayor said about one of her races. “The first two miles were when I was settling in, and then the rest I was flying. It’s great.”

In her experience, the high comes from distance running more than short runs, “Your body just kind of settles in and then you’re like, ‘Wow, this is great.’”

The high often looks different for every individual. Larry Kwiatkowski, 71, is the vice president of the Greater Bellingham Running Club, a non-profit club for folks of all ages and running backgrounds to partake in the sport. Kwiatkowski’s experience with the high only comes after runs, he says. He only recently came to be a runner. Inspired by his track-athlete son, he took up the sport in his 50s. 

Kwiatkowski feels the same lightness and stability in his mood and body that Mayor describes, but he feels this exclusively after running. “Depression has been a part of my life and it’s just after every run… I feel so good.” This mood and positivity is a gift lasting hours from a sport he appreciates so much, running. 

It’s a common misunderstanding that endorphins are to credit for the boosted mood and physical stamina a runner may experience. However, endorphins do not pass the blood-brain barrier, meaning it is unlikely that a positive mood change would come from exercise, Dr. David Linden of Johns Hopkins University reported in an article.

Instead, Dr. Linden calls attention to endocannabinoids in the bloodstream. Compositionally these are similar to cannabis but are naturally produced by the body. Endocannabinoids easily pass through the cellular barriers unlike endorphins, and are credited with promoting feelings of calm and reducing anxiety after exercise. 

Kwiatkowski can attribute his post-run high to endocannabinoids, while Mayor may be feeling more of a physical sensation from endorphins.

One runner who experiences both types of these highs, Andrew Oslin, runs track for Western. As a graduate student-athlete who has been running since middle school, Oslin has years of experience with the sport’s vast array of benefits for the mind and body.

Oslin runs 5K and 10K races, and like Mayor, experiences the high only from distance running because it allows time to settle into a pace. When he is running at a stronger pace, what he calls “marathon pace,” is when he gets that rush of endorphins and endocannabinoids both at practice and during races. 

“During [the run] there’s definitely a sense of that flow state sometimes which might have some kind of similarities with runner’s high. But how I experience it is mostly after.” Oslin describes the high during a run as a lightness throughout his whole body. “I would compare it to that feeling when you’re hungry and haven’t eaten in a while. A jitteriness like having low blood sugar as well as just kind of a clarity mentally.”

From Oslin’s experience, these feelings of lightheadedness and jitters are not negative as they often feel outside of exercise. It’s a sensation that’s relieving to his muscles and mind. 

Despite the challenging nature of Oslin’s sport and how “awful” it may feel at times when he’s towards the end of a race, he finds focus and resilience through his described flow state. 

As for mental benefits, Oslin most often feels an emotional lift at more stressful times in his life. If he’s overwhelmed with school or just general stresses, “maybe it’s sort of an emotional contrast… I experience the high more when I’m in stressful situations, it’s a release from whatever else is going on.”

For longer-distance runners, the high may not kick in until much farther in a race. Larry Lober, 71, is a board member of the Greater Bellingham Running Club and has enjoyed the sport since 1986. 

“Distance is all I’ve ever done. I’ve never done anything less than a half marathon,” said Lober, who has found that full marathons (26.2 miles) are his “cup of tea.”

In these great distances, Lober finds himself “somewhere else” where he doesn’t notice any discomfort or pain. He’s all gas, no breaks. Once Lober gets to the point of experiencing this lightness, it’ll last for about an hour. The 13-15 mile mark is usually when that happens. It takes a special preparation to conquer distances like these, and Lober’s preparation allows him to find his “groove.”

“I think it’s when I’m well rested, well hydrated, have good nutrition and that allows everything to click in at a point.”

Based on the testimonials of Mayor, Oslin and Lober, it seems that a runner’s high may happen at a proportional rate in mileage. Although the degree and timing of the high may vary, its existence is an incentive for runners not only to feel good as they’re running but feel good for extended periods afterward. Runner’s high isn’t necessarily sought after by athletes, but it acts as a positive byproduct of the sport that keeps athletes coming back to it.

Although the degree and timing of the high may vary, its existence is an incentive for runners not only to feel good as they’re running, but feel good for extended periods of time after. 

Runner’s high isn’t necessarily sought after by athletes, but it acts as a positive byproduct of the sport that keeps athletes coming back to it.

Whether it’s Mayor’s “settling in,” Oslin’s “flow state,” or Lober’s “groove,” all three attested to finding an equally challenging yet comfortable pace about one-third to one-fifth of your way through a race and allowing your body and mind to move freely through the run.