BETA
Chapter 1
The spark that started the stampede
Chapter 2
The community on the pavement
Chapter 3
Extreme limits and global trails
Chapter 4
The science of the runner's high
Ch 4 · The science of the runner's high
adidas Match running gear through the decades to discover how the global running boom grew.
adidas Your body produces anandamide to drive this euphoria, binding to the same brain receptors as cannabis instead of large endorphins.
Quiz
Why can't endorphins be the primary cause of the mental euphoria felt during a runner's high?
Quiz
What is the name of the 'bliss molecule' produced by the body during running that crosses the blood-brain barrier?
adidas The San people of the Kalahari Desert use persistence hunting to outrun fast prey.
Quiz
What unique biological cooling mechanism gives humans an advantage over fast sprinters like antelope?
Fun Fact
Sweat glands: Humans have between 2 and 4 million sweat glands, allowing us to shed heat faster than almost any other mammal on Earth!
Quiz
Which of our closest living evolutionary relatives completely lacks a long Achilles tendon?
Quiz
Which tendon in the human leg acts like a spring, storing and releasing energy with each stride?
Glossary
endocannabinoid (noun)
A lipid-based neurotransmitter produced naturally by the body that binds to cannabinoid receptors. A 2021 clinical trial by Johannes Fuss demonstrated that these molecules, not endorphins, trigger post-run euphoria.
A lipid-based neurotransmitter produced naturally by the body that binds to cannabinoid receptors. A 2021 clinical trial by Johannes Fuss demonstrated that these molecules, not endorphins, trigger post-run euphoria.
Quiz
In which area of the brain, responsible for learning and memory, does running stimulate new neuron growth?
Quiz
What is the name of the brain protein that acts like 'fertilizer' to grow new brain cells during aerobic exercise?