Am I Closer to Scott Jurek or the “Dude” from the Great Lebowski When I Run?

As I am running my normal weekend long run, like many of you after a few miles or so, a serene and happy feeling comes over me. My “runner’s high” and I am feeling great I am imagining that I am crushing my trail run like the legendary ultra-runners Scott Jurek or Courtney Dauwalter. If you are a road runner who is partial to marathons, maybe you feel like you are at that moment emulating the Kenyan, Eliud Kipchoge or recent U.S. Bronze medalist Molly Seidal. The Endorphins have kicked in and everything feels great. I hate to be the one to tell you but science is beginning to say that you are closer to a stoner such as Cheech and Chong or the Dude when this feeling comes over you!

Some recent studies seems to indicate that endorphins are not the chemical that induces that “runner’s high” but that it is something called Endocannabinoids which are akin to cannabis. When I read the NY Times article Getting to the Bottom of the Runner’s High this past March, at first I thought this does not make sense. Stoners after all are not known to be high energy, while runners on the other hand can’t sit still. (I know newspaper links are now not open to everyone but if you can’t get access here is a link to review of one of the studies. That way you know I am not making this up!)

The studies however were very thorough and included mice, dogs, humans and ferrets. I mean using ferrets brings it to whole other level. After all how many bogus studies do you know that have included ferrets? That is because the first thing you would say is “you compared runners to ferrets in this study?” that must be a joke. So obviously only a serious study would have the guts to do that.

While at first I was a bit skeptical of these studies my real life experience started to affirm the studies’ findings. In fact they may want to use my observations to help build on their research. I warn you however, that you runners may not like it, especially if you are an ultra-runner.

Runners have Ravenous Appetites – One of the major reasons people become runners is so that they can eat. Eat not just a little but a lot, and also eat whatever the heck they want. Our appetites are equal to any stoner’s with the munchies. Take me for example as your average runner. Even my own family who live with me look at what I have devoured and say “you ate all that!” Don’t get me wrong I do try and eat healthy and for the most part I do, even when I snack. At the end of the day after a long day of running and working and I am sitting in the den I will stuff myself with a plant based supply of food most notably potato chips, nuts, and beer. I know many runners and their appetites are voracious. The only thing that separates us runners from the stoners when we eat, is our cool race shirts.

Have you seen the Food at Ultra Aid Stations? – I mean at the ultras that I have run I have seen the following, Gummy Bears, M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, potato chips, quesadillas, Coke, pizza, and pickle juice! I mean how many social gatherings have you been to where the host supplies pickle juice? Can you imagine a friend inviting you over to a swanky party saying “We have filet mignon, lobster, caviar, the finest French wines and of course the best pickle juice.” I mean the only other people who would drink pickle juice are a bunch of stoners.

When we get to the aid station there is no delicacy or manners used in cramming the food down. In fact, on an ultra-marathon the closer you get to an aid station the more you begin to think about the food and drink. It is like you are going through a menu in your mind about what you are going to eat or drink.

If a couple of stoners stumbled out of the woods after toking some weed, and stumbled onto an aid station at an ultra race and saw the food. I can hear them now “Whoa maaan, it’s a f#@%$ feast!” Once again the only thing that would differentiate them from the runners is their clothing and maybe they smell better than the runners since they would not be all sweaty and dirty.

Cannabis is being legalized Across this Nation – While I l know Americans love stoners in movies especially for their comic relief but do they want to emulate them of have their kids be one? That has been why I have been perplexed by the strong movement to legalize cannabis in many states. Yes, I know that there are medical and social reasons for this movement but that does not always spur change. Then it hit me. Everyone wants to be like a runner. They are a jealous of our ability to move. They want to experience the runner high but without actually running. They are looking for the easy way out. While I continue to vacillate on the issue of legalizing marijuana this idea of people getting the “runner high” without running is not an argument in its favor. In fact, it kinda irks me.

The Race Scene is a Party – Yes before a race we are all happy and excited. Many of us are addicted to races and sign up for as many as we can fit into our schedule and budget. Yet it is not before the race when the cannabis kicks in but at the finish line at the end of the race where everyone is smiling and exchanging high fives. Even those people who are in awful pain after the race, are smiling and laughing. We are guzzling a beer if available, chatting with complete strangers about the course. You couldn’t find a happier silly group, even at a stoner’s party.

While we may all debate the chemical cause of the “runner’s high” there seems to be a consensus as why us humans evolved to make it a necessary function. On the plains of Africa in our prehistoric era the biggest advantage we had is that we had no fur and could sweat which meant that we could run long distances in a pack and run down our prey. While researchers don’t say this I might add that after running miles and miles in the dirt, our sweaty odor probably kept predators away as well. A hungry lion took one whiff of a sweaty, boney, and dirty human and said “Yuck! Let me get myself some fresh aromatic warthog”.

So where does this leave us runners? Is it endorphins or Endocannabinoids (cannabis)? I will let you decide. As you are running and you feel great you will be thinking my endorphins are kicking in. On the other hand, when you rush to an aid station and eat your gummy worms, Oreos, and drink your Coke will you say that it is your Endorphins? Or when you are home after a good running day and are sitting there eating your snacks after a full meal will you also be thinking about your endorphins? In the end, it really doesn’t matter which it is because you stand out as a runner because of your cool race shirt.