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Going The Extra Mile

The ground started to blur under me as I felt my lungs start to burn. The steady beat of
my footsteps echoed in my ears and I felt the beads of sweat roll down my forehead causing my
hair to stick to my face as my throat ached for air, more air. The amazing breeze of wind past my
face cooled me down. My muscles stretched, pushed harder to keep going. My pace became
cadent and my legs moving so fast, made me feel like I was flying. That was my first time
running the mile my freshman year.
Ever since I can remember, I have hated running. Absolutely hated it; detested it. I didnt like the
way it made me so out of breath and the pain I would feel in my legs. I always envied those who
chose to run for fun and not for a grade like me. I think my dislike for running stems from being
forced to run in P.E. I had never run a full mile, in my life, until my freshman year. In middle
school, I would always skip laps and hope that the teacher didnt catch me. But my freshman
year, that wasnt a possibility. I had to run the full four laps thinking I was going to pass out.
Luckily I did not.
I have always wanted to be someone who loves running, someone who wakes up and says, Im
going to run five miles this today But, I could never find that motivation that I imagine one
need for that. I have tried to run miles without stopping since then but I never can. Each time I
feel like I am about to die. Of course, I dont but it always leads me to ask the question: What
motivates people to run? Why do people choose to put themselves through that? What are the
benefits?
As I was walking onto the trail, I looked around and saw the old trees stretching out and
away from the soggy soil filled with bugs. I was looking at the vast array of pinecones and leaves
that covered the trail. The sound of crunching leaves absorbed the sound of my footsteps. Aubrey

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Bitter, an AAFA certified personal trainer for the YMCA, stopped abruptly and in a authoritative
voice said, Are you ready? I was definitely not feeling ready. Looking at the people around
me, I felt inadequate. Everyone looked so motivated and so ready to run the best three miles of
their lives. When I would close my eyes, wanting to complain, the fresh smell of pine trees
would bring me back to focus on what I was doing.
I tasted the saltiness of my sweat running down to my lip after the first mile. I could feel
my heart thumping quickly in my chest, begging me to stop. Usually, one would think the birds
chirping and the sound of the stress swaying would relax someone, but it did not. As I was
running my hardest, I could hear the sound of my tennis shoes crunching the leaves on the
ground. The jogging felt never ending and thats when I truly wanted to stop and ask, What
have I gotten myself into? but this was just the beginning of lengthy training leading up to my
half marathon.
When I sat down with Dr. Igra, a family physician from Kaiser Permanente, I had no idea
of the kinds of answers I would get from her. I asked her what kinds of things happen to your
brain when you start to run. She told me, Endorphins are released into our system. In other
words, we get happy and we start to feel better about the things that are happening around us.
Running or cardio exercise in general has a unique effect on us; something that you cannot feel
unless work is really being put in.
Because endorphins are released, mood has been proven to improve during running.
Running improves the levels of endorphins. Running also improves the levels of norepinephrine,
which makes a person more alert and serotonin, which regulates your mood. In many SSRIs,
serotonin is released to regulate your mood. Wolfgang Ketterle, a nobel prize winning physicist
from MIT shared a personal story in an article for The Guardian:

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Being a runner, to me, has made being depressed impossible. If ever Im going through
something emotional and just go outside for a run, you can rest assured that Ill come back with
clarity and empowerment. (Sample, The Guardian)
It has been clinically tested that anti-depressants help the growth of these brain cells to
help fight the depression. Neurogenesis is the growth and development of nervous tissue. People
who suffer from depression, neurogenesis is limited. But what if instead of taking antidepressants to help the growth of grey matter, you just ran instead? No one is really as to why
running improves the growth of grey matter but it could be linked to the blood flow or the
amount of hormones that are released when exercising.
Many people also choose to run because it relieves their stress. In an experiment
conducted by Timothy Schoenfeld, a fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, one group
of mice had an unlimited time on running of the wheel and the second group had none.
Researches found that group one ran up to 2.5 miles a night when they were given the running
wheel. After six weeks observation, both group were put into cold water. In the mice that did not
run, the water triggered their immediate early genes which means that the gene was turned on
when the neuron was fired. The lack of these genes in the neurons of active mice suggested that
their brain cells did not immediately leap into an excited state in the response to the stressor
(Kelly). In the mice who ran, the gene was not turned on which suggested that the mice has more
control over their reaction to the cold water. This all means that running relieves stress in people
because they have more control over how their brain will react in times of high stress.
After running, many athletes get headaches, or nauseated and some athletes feel energetic
and full of life. So why is there a difference in the runners? Why doesnt everyone feel the same
after running? Well some peoples motivation for running is to burn off those calories from the
burrito they just ate. This is not the right thing to do because when someone runs, the amount of
intestinal hormone peptide YY that gives the nauseated feeling that people complain about.
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Many people are also unprepared for a run and want to run to get rid of their headache but just
end up getting a worse headache after their run. This is because of tight muscles and poor
hydration (McDowell). Dr. Bright, a physician and sportsmedicine specialist says The
trapezius attaches high at your scalp, so if you hold a lot of tension in your upper body as you
run, your head could ache. But headaches are also common when someone is dehydrated.
Choosing to run when someone hasnt been drinking water regularly could really damage the
bodys system.
When athletes are training for races their main goal is not about relieving stress or
helping combat depression or even avoiding heart disease.. So what is their motivation to run
these lengthy races? They create a vision of what they want to accomplish. The vision is the
dream of what you dare to accomplish; it will provide direction and inspiration (Browning nd
Sleamaker 238). When someone has a vision of what they are trying to accomplish, they are
more likely to follow through with the plan. When athletes are training, their main goal is to be
mentally and physically fit enough for the race.
It is a known fact that people choose to run because they want to improve their physique.
So how does the body change over time when it is being forced to do exercise? For one, the core
of your body, which are the abs, get stronger. The twisting movement that the body makes when
running is responsible for this. The muscles in the legs start to get stronger and they become
more visible. The arms also start to get more fit because the motion that is done when someone is
running. Overall, your body becomes a stronger body, A stronger body results in increased
metabolism, better bone density and a measurable boost in overall health (The Active Times).
On a run, there are four different phases the body goes through. In phase, one ATP is released out
of glycogen storage units and your muscles consume this to have energy to take the body

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through the run. In phase two, the muscles release lactic acid to let the brain know that the body
is undergoing rigorous exercise. As the body continues to undergo the exercise, the muscle cells
have to break down glucose. They do this by pushing away blood from functions that are not
essential at the time, like oxygen in order for it to bring oxygen to the organs that need it more.
The lungs need the oxygen more than anything leading to heavy breathing. The body begins to
increase in temperature causing the vessels to dilate therefore giving the face a flushed look. In
this phase, the body also started to produce sweat in order to cool down and avoid heat stroke.
Next, in phase three, the ATP that was released in phase one starts to lag for people who are
not used to running. This causes the lactic acid to build up which makes the muscles start to
cramp and become achy. For an experienced runner, in this phase, the body begins a steady cycle
of sweating, breathing, and breaking down glucose. In the last phase, which is the cool down
phase, people start slowing down coming to a walk, the breath becomes steady and normal and
the endorphins are released (How Running Changes the Body).
Scientists say that running slows down the aging clock (Fries, Stanford University). In
1984, Dr. James Fries started conducting his experiment with 538 runners over the age of fifty.
Many scientists believed that the runners would suffer long lasting orthopedic injuries doing
more bad than good. Fries had a different hypothesis for experiment though. He believed that
with the constant running, they would end up living longer healthier lives avoiding any future
injuries. In the beginning of the experiment, the runners were running about four hours a week.
After a while that time diminished to seventy-six minutes a week. Out of the two groups, the
onset of disability came much later for the runners; sixteen years later. Fries said that, The effect
was probably due to runners' greater lean body mass and healthier habits in general. In the end
after nineteen years into the experiment, thirty-four percent of the non-runners died compared to

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only fifteen percent of the runners. It is proven that running has slowed cardiovascular deaths.
This experiment has also proven the fact that runners do not have a higher chance of
encountering osteoarthritis later in life. Even though most of the runners who were in the
experiment are in their 80s and 90s now, they have not gotten osteoarthritis. It has lowered the
chance of death by cancer, neurological disease and infection, etc. Running is a better and safer
form exercise than any other sport. Although running does not necessarily prolong your life, it
does prolong the years of active life one has. Obviously death is something that no one can get
out of, but running can help people have longer active lives.
As people begin to run on a daily basis and begin to get used to it, it becomes more than
just something someone does to lose weight, feel better about themselves or improve their health.
It starts to become a part of their lives, their lifestyle. For Dr. George Sheehan, author of Medical
Advice for Runners, running has given him the chance to be a saint, to be a hero (Sheehan 25).
Many people who are in incredible shape choose to run daily. So why do they run when they are
already in good health and have no real need? Some people become so engrossed with running
that skipping a day of running makes them feel horrible and guilty. Some people have this innate
will to run. Everyday they wake up with the desire to go run for whatever reason.
Bethany Moore, a nursing student at The University of Portland told me that she tries to
run at least eight miles every week just because she loves to run. She has no health related reason
to run so I was curious as to what made her want to start running. When I asked her why she
started running she told me, At first, it was because i wanted to get into better shape but after
about a year, if I didnt run it felt wrong. Moore says that as human beings, we have evolved
because of the innate will to run. Back when the human life was about hunting and gathering for

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the family, homosapiens had to chase down their food. As we have evolved into the humans we
are now, some of us have that innate sense to run more than others.
Many people also choose to run because if its effects on the heart. It is known that
running improves heart health. When people start running their hearts begin to get stronger. And
when the heart gets stronger, there is less of a chance for heart failure. Running also helps
improve blood circulation in the body. When a person is running, the heart works harder to keep
up with the fast pace. Because of this, the circulation is improved tremendously. The improved
circulation normalizes blood flow to the limbs, for example, preventing peripheral arterial
disease (Emma Watkins, Demand Media). When circulation is improved, the organ function
improves also. Because the body is made of cells and blood flow carries the nutrients, the organs
also benefit from it.
At the end of the day, people have all kinds of different motivations as to why they run.
That can be due to health issues, stress relief or even just for fun. There are so many reasons why
people should be running. Running can improve your mood because of the serotonin, and
endorphins that are released into your brain, which make you feel happier after a quick jog.
People may choose to run because they want to lose weight or because they want to tone their
bodies to look better for the upcoming season. Any reason to run is a good reason.
Before I did all my research and did the interviews, I honestly did not understand why
people wanted to run. I would never in a million years just wake up and want to start running and
I know I am not alone in this. I read in an article titled, Why we love to run that more than two
million people in the UK run at least once a week. One might think that that is not much but it
truly does make a difference in your overall persona. Running even just once a week can have
lasting effects in the long run. If you were to run just once a week for the rest of your life, your

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health would improve tremendously. I also learned that running takes a lot of discipline. You
have to be on top of everything that is going on with your body to be a conscious runner. You
have to push yourself to achieve your goals and that is also true in running. As I was learning all
these new things, I was encouraged to run on my own free will and not because I had to. In
March, I hired a personal trainer at the YMCA and she took me runnin/walking a couple times a
week. I no longer have a personal trainer but I now I still run a couple times a week. I have
suffered from depression for a couple years and it never occurred to me to run to help me
overcome it until I did my research. It has been almost two months since I started running and I
can honestly say that I feel better. It may not completely cure my depression but it definitely
helps. I chose this question because I truly hated running and i wanted to know why people even
choose to do that to themselves. Now every week I have something to look forward to, my
weekly runs.

Works Cited
Books:
Browning, Ray, and Rob Sleamaker. Champaigne, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996. Print.
Sheehan, George. Dr. George Sheehan's Medical Advice for Runners. Mountain View, CA:
World Publications, 1978. Print.
Electronic Sources:
Andersen, Charlotte Hilton. "How Marathon Running Changes Your Brain." Shape Magazine.
N.p., 23 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"How Running Changes Your Body." The Active Times. INJINJI, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Mar.
2016.
McDowell, Dimity. "Weird Science." Runner's World. N.p., 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

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Kelly, Morgan. "Exercise Reorganizes the Brain to Be More Resilient to Stress." Princeton
University. Trustees of Princeton University, 03 July 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Digitale, Erin. "Running Slows the Aging Clock." News Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Sample, Ian. "Start Running and Watch Your Brain Grow, Say Scientists."
The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

Primary Source:
Vivian, Igra. Physician, Kaiser Permanente, Walnut Creek CA. Personal Interview. 18 March
2016.
Moore, Bethany. Student, University of Portland, Portland OR. Phone interview. 1 April 2016.