A Brief Survey of the Territory

Running is a key that generates a variety of experiences and joys for a large number of people world wide, hence the astronomical increase in citizen participation in road races of every distance. This blog and ones that follow will address the topic of “Runners High”, why such a thing exists, how might we cultivate it, learn from it, and weave its lessons into the fabric of our lives?

We have evolved into a species that has all the anatomy and physiology in place to excel in endurance athletics, especially running. We also have developed emotionally and mentally over time, giving us the capacity for a psychic/mystical orientation towards experience. Blend these two qualities, the endurance and mystical capacities, and a very luring hybrid emerges, commonly known as the Runner’s High.

It is likely that the sense of bodily strength, lightness, and the fluid ease of movement that accompanies transcendent running experiences developed first for our nomadic ancestors. As we climbed the evolutionary ladder, our consciousness expanded from mere survival to creativity and influence on our environment, and the mystical aspects of higher emotional and mental functions developed.  Continue Reading »

Truly we feel best when we feel a unity of purpose in our activities. This is not different with running. We feel like we are clicking. Many times I’ve heard a runner say, “it turned over” or “I got in a groove” or “everything felt connected”. These experience are associated with a runners high. We have gone from our day job to the road for an end of day run and boom. Perhaps in some way our day didn’t fulfill some, perhaps vague, deeper need. Our run has transformed us and we go into evening feeling refreshed, relaxed, renewed, cohered, and unified. The simple act of running has delivered a gift. It wasn’t mental, it wasn’t practical, it wasn’t expected, it just was. We deferred to our body, which in its primary motions has a unity of purpose and action. Even when our bodies have been held in questionable, static, and unnatural positions for a number of hours, it bounces back. We feel looser, lighter, more fluid, all of which have a vitalizing and rejuvenating effect on our spirit.Continue Reading »

What to do if you hear your Glutes quoting Shakespeare…..”To be or ….?”. Well, don’t freak out!

It is well documented that the Gluteus Maximus (Glutes) play a huge role in running. They couple with the Lats in the posterior chain to drive propulsion. They couple with the hamstrings in terminal swing to decelerate the leg and bring it down powerfully to an underbody ground contact. They help stabilize the pelvis in side to side movement. In theory they developed to their modern size and power so that early forms of “us” could run long distances. “The Gluteus Maximus, whose increased size is among the most distinctive of all human features, is strongly recruited in running at all speeds…..”[1] They also look good, right?Continue Reading »