The 5 Ways Running is Like a Substance Addiction

My time out on the road is frequently filled with all kinds of wacky thoughts. On long runs I tend to engage in mental gymnastics to bide my time and occasionally some funny thoughts come into my mind. Yesterday the thought occurred to me that running (or perhaps I should say, the persistent compulsion to run) is very much like a substance addiction – it’s irresistible! So I started listing all the ways running is like a substance abuse issue; here are my top 5:

Your First Introduction to Running Makes You Sick – Then You Gotta Have More

Remember that first time you got out there and tried to run a mile? Chances are your heart felt like it was going to jump out of your chest, you couldn’t breathe, and you were sure you were going to barf.

If you’ve ever been a smoker you’ll immediately recognize these symptoms. Isn’t that what it felt like the first time you smoked a cigarette? What in the world made you smoke another? And yet you did. Why? Something about it hooked you – probably the speeded up  feeling it gave you. I mean, you don’t get physically addicted to nicotine from one cigarette!

Running is kind of the same. Even though you feel like you want to die after you do it for the first time, there is a weird compulsion to try it again- “just to see.” Then, you do it again. By the time you’re done with your little personal dare, you find that the nasty effects are gone and you actually enjoy running. In fact, it’s only a brief time before you have to have your run time to feel normal.  Running either “hooks you” or it doesn’t. Just like nicotine, some people never try another smoke again – and some people will go back to being a couch potato after trying to run. Ha!

Once You’re Hooked, You Seek Others With Your Addiction
It’s a well-known fact that people addicted to alcohol seek the company of other alcoholics. We do this because it's a natural human trait to look for community support for our actions, to validate them if you will, regardless of how destructive they may be. We know this. It’s one of the reasons we try to keep our kids away from the “wrong crowd” at school. The influence of the crowd is strong indeed.

Once you’re hooked on running, two things happen. You begin to devour all the information you can find about running, and you seek out the company of others who share your addiction. I sometimes amuse myself when I am at a party or group activity. Somehow, I always pick out the runners in the room and gravitate towards them. The conversation quickly turns to split times, planned races and plantar fasciitis. Ah! I am in my element. The room becomes warm and all aglow. I belong. Mmmm…feels so good.

You Become a “Pusher-Man”
Remember what they taught you in middle school? In my day the police used to come into the classroom and show us films about how to resist the “pusher” – the guy/gal who wants to get you hooked so that they can sell you drugs. Kids today learn  “Just say no.”

It’s funny for me to think of myself as a “pusher” but I guess I really am. And maybe you are too? How many friends have you tried to convince to run with you? “Just try it once – you’ll love it!” You know it’s just what they need to lose weight, get through mid-life depression, deal with their work related anxiety, forget about their money problems for a while, boost their self-esteem… and it will. If only you could convince them to join you in your addiction! Funny, eh?

Of course, running just happens to be really good for you. And I do prefer thinking of myself as a running evangelist rather than a pusher. Nonetheless, you have to admit that the similarities are there.

The Medical Community is Up To It’s Neck In It
You’d have to be living in a cave to not realize that there are plenty of medical practitioners who, for either nefarious or perfectly reputable reasons, have been the (un) witting cause of plenty of substance addictions. Hello! Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Sheen, Billy Joel…I could go on.

Nowadays, doctors are recommending exercise to their patients. Indeed – some are even mandating it and writing prescriptions for health clubs. Who knows how many doctors are directly responsible for causing running addictions? Why, it boggles the mind! I know my health insurance provider is constantly bombarding me with information about why walking and running is the best way to combat disease and stay healthy. And what about all the organizations raising money for cancer research with huge benefit races?

There they go again! Watch out! Doctors want you to be addicted to running!

Celebrities Fall Victim to the Ravages of The Addiction
Here's the final confirmation of my theory. The news is screaming with headlines of celebrities falling prey to the running addiction. This is how you know that the problem is truly out of control. Renee Zellweger has openly admitted to her addiction and continues to run despite overuse injury. Eminem has publicly discussed transferring his drug addiction to a running addiction and Sarah Jessica Parker and Madonna are similarly hooked.

When you see the headlines about Hollywood elites' running addictions screaming at you from the grocery store checkout line, you know the situation is out of control. I wonder if any of the residential treatment centers that harbor all those addicted celebs is specializing in running addiction? If they’re smart, they’ll get with the program soon enough!

So what do you think about my theory? Are there any other ways you think that running is like a substance addiction?

Read More:
Running Nonstop
I’m A Runner: Alanis Morissette
The Healing Power of the Marathon

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