If Everyone Ran

On a recent morning I awoke feeling some stress. My mind was filled with all of my duties for the day and it seemed like I had too much to do and not enough time. I knew I had to take action, so I went for a run. Exercise was on my to-do list so I thought this would be a great way to start the day.  Plus, I needed to sharpen my axe.

I recently heard a story about two lumberjacks. They were out chopping down trees. One said, "I'm going to take a break and go sharpen my axe." The other said, "I don't have time to do that. I've got too much work to do." He kept chopping and chopping. The first man went and sharpened his axe. He came back three hours later and chopped down twice as many trees as the man with the dull axe, and he did it in half the time.

Running to me is like sharpening my axe. My mind is sharper, my thoughts are clearer, and I can concentrate better, resulting in a more productive day. Additionally it lowers stress.

The level of cortisol, our stress hormone, is highest in the morning to help with the sleep/wake cycle. So it makes sense that morning could be a time of elevated stress. Cortisol also is part of the body’s natural fight or flight response. Running (actually exercise as whole) simulates the action of fighting or fleeing, which lowers cortisol levels.  When cortisol is lowered, so is stress. So I embarked on my run. With each foot strike I felt the stress dissipate and an empowering “bring it on” attitude appear.

I spied another runner coming toward me, as she passed we exchanged hellos. It occurred to me I rarely meet an angry runner.  I remembered an experience I had at this year’s Boston Marathon pre- race expo. I was at one of the exhibition booths checking out some of the latest gear when another runner, a woman from Wisconsin, struck up a conversation with me. She told me how she flew in from Milwaukee and the plane she was on was full of runners. The stewardess had commented to her how she had never been on a flight with people as pleasant as on this one.

I proceeded to think about how perhaps the world would be a better place if everyone ran. Politicians and world leaders should literally have to “run” for office. Besides being a certain age they also need to have logged a certain number of miles to be an eligible candidate.  Maybe congress would accomplish more if they debated issues while running. World leaders could solve disputes by racing a 10k. Maybe there would be fewer disputes among people and countries if everyone ran.  After all, running tends to make you see the world without fear or anger and builds confidence.

A quote from ultra-marathoner and best-selling author Dean Karnazes came to my mind; “There are so many things in life that divide us, that separate us and tear us apart, be it race, religion, creed, socioeconomic level, nationality or any variety of other factors. But running is something that we all share in common. Regardless of any of these divisive factors, we all run in the same way. It is a commonality we humans share in a world that emphasizes our differences.”

On that thought I finished my run with the classic runner’s high, a possible plan to solve the world’s problems, and I was ready to take on my day.