Seven Ways Trail & Ultrarunning Can Change Your Life
By Unknown - May 12, 2014
Photo Cred: Michelle
Evans
In
the process of writing my Master's Thesis on the benefits of Trail & Ultrarunning,
I learned a few rad things about the sport. Or, I should say, I confirmed much
of what I already knew to be true. So, here are a few tidbits, condensed for
your enjoyment :)
1. You'll Make The Best Friends You'll Ever Have.
Call
me bias, but I think that trail and Ultrarunners are a rare breed of super
humans-- capable of some serious levels of debauchery while still doing things
that most people would argue is crazy....such as running a hundred miles through
Death Valley in the middle of July. Stuff like that.
It takes a special balance of skill, determination, and just a little (or a lotta) bit of
stupidity to attempt an Ultra.... but life is too short to hold on to your security
blanket / comfort zone / whatever reason you give for why you're not out there
and doing something. Some of the best people I have met were
through local running groups, side-by-side in the middle of a race (like the
one time I got lost and met Trisha Reeves, blogger from the Barefoot Monologues,
in the middle of nowhere), or out on the trails (ever traded Cliff Bars on the
top of a mountain summit with another runner? It'll create a bond you'll never
forget). Most of us will agree that a huge part of this sport are the
friendships forged through real blood, sweat and tears. When
you push yourself to your own limits with others, chances are you will often go
further than you would alone. Having someone encouraging you and sticking by
your side during the end of a brutal race is sometimes the difference between a
DNF and a DFL. Having someone there to tell you to stand the fuck up when
you are sitting in the dirt, dead-set on staying there forever. I
do it for the the ice cold beers straight out of the cooler at the end of a
difficult trail run, when you're still caked with dirt and your skin is covered
in salt. I do it for the weekends of camping, story-telling, and music-playing
that leaves many of us wondering why we still live normal lives. These people
are raw. They are real. They are no-bullshit. But they are also humble,
beautiful, wild and remind me every day why I do what I do. If you feel like
your social group is lackluster and you need some spice in your life....all I
can say is go to a weekend campout for an Ultramarathon. It might
just change your life forever.
2. Nature is cheaper than therapy.
Although
many might not realize it, for thousands of years, nature has been our main
source of healing-- from improving our mood to curing illness, we have
always had our number one source of life energy right at our fingertips. With
the progression of modern living and urban civilization, we have become
completely disconnected from nature to the point where it has started to have a
negative impact on our health and well-being. New emerging research has begun
to explore the various ways in which nature can be used
in therapeutic ways. Eco-Therapy, Adventure
Therapy, and Trail Running Therapy (yes, that's a
real thing) have grown in popularity in the last ten years, with notable
success in the progress of their clients. A recent study
found that patients in recovery with a window facing the outdoors (where they
could see trees, a large front yard and flowers) had significant improvements
in their physical and mental health compared to those without a window. This illustrates how simply viewing nature through a window or photograph can
act as a powerful restorative agent. Complete immersion in nature
has also been shown to help individuals reach higher levels of personal
insight, increase their sense of self and dramatically reduce the cortisol
levels in their blood (stress hormone). Take a note from the research and hit
the trails!
3. Endorphins, Serotonin, & Dopamine-- Oh My!
Trail
and Ultrarunning literally gives you a natural high that can last for days.
Research has found that thirty minutes of exposure to nature has a significant
anti-depressant effect for up to 48 hours. Combine that with the extreme physical
challenge of running for long distances on a trail, and you've effectively
given yourself a trifecta of happiness-inducing chemicals: Dopamine, Serotonin
and Endorphins!
In his book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an
All-Night Runner, Ultrarunner Dean Karnazes describes the role that running
has in his life: “Some seek the comfort of their therapist's
office, other head to the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running
as my therapy”. Running is much more effective than any anti-depressant on the market
today.
Photo Cred: Michelle
Evans
4. It Builds Emotional Resilience.
Writer
and Ultrarunner Vanessa
Runs describes in her book, The Summit Seeker, the
profound impact that Ultrarunning has had on her life. “It’s that sense of accomplishment, self-worth,
and empowerment that spills over into every other aspect of your life. It makes
you hold your head up higher, gives you courage to shed those toxic
relationships, inspires you in your career, helps you raise your family better,
and motivates you to live healthfully and happily. That’s why I run
Ultras, and why I encourage others to do so”.
Ultramarathons push the human body to its limits and beyond.
The process of training and completing an Ultramarathon is a huge feat which
many have attempted and failed. Six-time Ironman endurance champion
Mark Allen describes the mental process behind a hard race, “Racing
is pain, and that’s why you do it, to challenge yourself and the limits of your
physical and mental barriers. You don’t experience that in an armchair watching
television”.
Oftentimes, running is a metaphor for life-- you get out in equal amounts of
what you put into it.
In
a study looking at first-time marathon finishers, participants reported that
they felt the process of training improved their lives in more ways than just
achieving a goal. They felt stronger emotionally, had higher levels of
self-esteem and because they were able to complete a marathon, they were also
able to extend that same concept to other areas of their life, such as in work,
their family life and relationships.
For many, 5Ks and the standard morning run around the
neighborhood just doesn't cut it. Overcoming a challenging distance or race
provides many runners with a sense of achievement and
purpose. Completing an Ultramarathon is considered a mastery of the
body and the mind. It takes a serious level of training (most of
the time), commitment and some serious balls to cross the finish line of an
Ultra. Some Ultrarunners have a new means of improving their
well-being rather than just setting a goal for a race or wanting the challenge
of a longer distance.
5.
You'll Get Into The Flow.
Have you ever heard of being "in the zone"? In
research, flow is described as “the state in which people are
so intensely involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, and
such an experience is so enjoyable that people will carry it out even at a
great cost, just for the sheer sake of doing it”. When in flow a
person is completely focused in an activity to the extent of losing awareness
of time, the surroundings, and all other things except for the activity
itself. One of the nine dimensions of flow, the balance between challenge
and skills, is dependent on factors including mental preparation, physical
preparation, importance of the competition, and difficultly of the challenge.
Flow has been shown to increase performance in long-distance
running. In one study, runners were able to run faster and more
efficiently when they were in flow. Long-distance
runners may be tapping into this process to achieve a runner’s high,
a term often describing the experience of flow. In another study investigated runners’ flow during
the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Race, runners reported to be highly
motivated by one of the dimensions of flow—the balance between perceived
challenge and skill. When the challenge and mastery were in balance,
flow was more likely to occur. This may explain why many runners
begin running longer distances: As they become used to certain distances over
time, their motivation to push the balance between challenge and skill leads
towards a gradual increase in mileage.
While running, it might be the moment when you finally forget
about the running-- it feels like the ground is moving effortlessly beneath
your feet and your legs have found their rhythm. Being in nature has been found
to promote the experience of flow, along with findings from my research,
long-distance running has also been shown to promote the experience of flow.
Flow is also connected with improved mood and quality of life. So in a
nutshell-- your experiences while running longer distances in nature will
surely help you get into flow better than running on a treadmill at the gym. Or
sitting on your couch in front of the TV.
7. It's A Positive Addiction
Let's
face it-- most Ultrarunners have been faced with the "You. Are.
Absolutely. Crazy." response when telling a non-Ultrarunner about their
training or race goals. "I don't even like to drive that far" is the
favorite response and slogan that many Ultrarunners use when describing their
friends and families response to their training / running / lifestyle. Although
it can be both a positive and negative addiction, depending on
you approach it (i.e., training through a serious injury), for the most part
I'd argue that being addicted to trail and long-distance running is a damn good
thing. (Sidenote: If you currently have a serious addiction, running has been
shown to help reduce stress and anxiety while in recovery).
Running
is an excellent mood-shifter and most runners chase that high. You go into a
run feeling one way and come out feeling completely different. Renewed. In a
lot of ways, I compare trail running to a car wash-- you go in feeling dirty,
jumbled up and off-sorts, and leave feeling clean, refreshed and rejuvenated.
Which is funny, because on the outside the opposite is usually true-- you go
into a trail fresh and clean, and leave covered in dirt and sweat.
There
are millions of other benefits of Trail and Ultrarunning that didn't make this
list, but I'll just say that the Beer Mile, although not distance running or
necessarily in nature, is high up on the contenders list for positives things that have come out of this culture!
What are your favorite things about Trail & Ultrarunning?
7 comments
Fun and enjoyable read -- thank you. --- three tries now at deciphering the secret code thingies... www.rungentlyoutthere.com -- not a robot thingie
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Funny how such a lonely sport (at times) can lead to such amazing friendships :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the comments about 'flow'. Really interesting, thanks
ReplyDeleteThe "Flow," I'm really starting to feel that now, where I feel relaxed and lighter on my feet during trail runs, and even my heart rate during runs has lowered, especially during the climbs. Good stuff...
ReplyDeleteFantastic post - I can definitely relate! But I can't see number 6...?
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. I'm writing an article on "runner's high" for my blog and will be be quoting your article (with citation, of course)
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. I linked this article with a recent article I wrote regarding runner's high.
moik