“It’s this feeling of you can do anything. You’re on top of the world. You feel like you can go forever,” senior boys’ cross county captain Kai Bakilana-Ritz said. According to Johns Hopkins Medical Center, runner’s high is the release
of endorphins, a neurotransmitter known for making you happy, into the bloodstream as the runner hits their stride.
The runner enters a feeling of a deep euphoric state. But could it be something else? Runner’s high is rare according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, though the pleasurable feeling a runner gets post-run could be from something else, endocannabinoids.
Endocannabinoids are neurotransmitters just like endorphins, but they pass through the cell barrier a little easier than endorphins do. Though endocannabinoids don’t make you feel euphoric like endorphins do, they do make you feel relaxed post run, and can help reduce anxiety in general. Having a rush of endocannabinoids at the end of a run is more common than a rush of endorphins.
“Usually [on] a run I have to push myself to keep on going, but [with runner’s high] it gives me motivation to keep going,” senior and co-captain of the girls’ cross country team, Aranza Torres said. Torres explains that running isn’t everyone’s favorite activity, but the desire to reach runners high can give runners’ motivation, on longer runs it’s what keeps Torres going.
Torres also explains how it’s partly mindset, “I know that if I end the run well I’ll feel good. It’s like you’re almost done just keep pushing for these last few miles,” she said.
Runner’s high usually happens in the final few miles of a long run, when the body has already been working. It’s more common to get runner’s high on longer runs because of the duration of time the body has been training. Runner’s high is rare for some; this can be because of fewer cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Cannabinoid receptors are what take in endorphins and let them affect the brain.
Endorphins and endocannabinoids are released in response to physical discomfort and pain, if you push yourself harder your body will release more, causing runners high. Runner’s high is the reward part of running, despite it being rare for some it’s an important part of the sport.
