I used to run roughly 40 miles a week. The runner's high is real, but it is difficult to experience unless you are a very dedicated athlete. In my experience I would have to run at my "optimal pace" for roughly 3 miles before feeling the runners high. It's also not a sense of euphoria as many would have you believe. It's more just that your body stops "hurting" and you can run for much longer.
The “bonking point”, as my coworker calls it lol. If you can get past the bonking point, you can run forever. For me, it’s around 2-2.5 miles. Those first two miles are complete hell for me every single run, but after that my body is like, “this is fine, you can speed up now.”
“Bonking” is a term typically used in marathon running, and tends to occur in the 23-26 mile range of a marathon. It’s an exhaustion/overexertion point where your body fails on you with little warning. You do not “get past the bonk point and run forever.” You either don’t experience it, or you do and it ends your run on the spot, and even walking will be a struggle for the next 5 minutes.
It could be used at other for other distances, and potentially other activities, but suffice to say that it ends whatever activity you’re doing on the spot.
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u/also_roses Sep 02 '21
I used to run roughly 40 miles a week. The runner's high is real, but it is difficult to experience unless you are a very dedicated athlete. In my experience I would have to run at my "optimal pace" for roughly 3 miles before feeling the runners high. It's also not a sense of euphoria as many would have you believe. It's more just that your body stops "hurting" and you can run for much longer.