The Runner's High

As you know, I am a teetotaler when it comes to using alcohol as a beverage. If a drink has any alcohol content, I want no part of it. The suprise may be that this has very little to do with being a retired minister. It has much more to do with my unwavering conviction that total abstinence is the only way to go. In most things being a Christian would only require moderation; but when it comes to alcohol or drugs I have become convinced that there is no true moderation, at least in the long term. Even those who try to use either socially can remember times and circumstances where they have been an abuser.

It is true that even many religious people would not agree with my viewpoint; but, frankly some of the worst abusers I have know through the years still consider themselves to be religious. After 36 years of working full-time with local churches that face may grieve me even more than it does you. You see, I am convinced that if it takes four beers (in your case) to make you drunk, then after your first one you are already one-fourth drunk; and beyond that it is only a matter of percentages. I fully agree , these are my convictions. They do not have to be yours. I have no problem with counting you as being my friend just because you might disagree. If certainly respect your right to make your own choices in life.

Furthermore, we all like to get high on something. You probably would not drink unless you felt you were getting something in return. yet afterwards there may be shame, guilt or embarrasment. It might suprise you how many have talked with me who couldn't even remember if they had a good time while they were doing it. They had to depend on someone else to tell them what they did or how they acted. Plus feeling miserable the next morning. That may not describe you every time at all; but do you remember a morning when it did?

The exciting thing is that there is a high that is much better than that. It comes from running. Sometimes during a race; and sometimes afterward. Sometimes when you are alone and at other times shared with your best friend. In any case, it's wonderful, elusive and hard to describe. it may manifest itself during a run as a feeling of euphoria...as if you could run forever. It may happen afterwards through a sense of accomplishment, follwoing a difficult undertaking or even shared pain. It can be described as the simple joy of running. It won't happen every time you run; but when it does it will be an event to remember.

There are lots of ways of getting high in our time. Some even connected with work or business accomplishments. The sad thing is that many of them have their downside. Their cost is cometimes greater than their benefits. That is why we need options.

This is where the runner's high can produce positive benefits. It doesn't have to be based on vanity or pride. It is not dependent nearly so much on beating others as it is in living up to your own self-image. It is about doing your best and feeling good because of it.

It is also amazinly lasting. Oh, the initial feeling may not survive very long; but the memory of it will persist. Even a week or a month later you can relive the joy of the occasion; and the memory can be almost as thilling as the event itself.

You have the right to make your own decisions about where you get your highs. It is a little like going through a cafeteria line, where you can pick and choose what you want. There is also a pay-out at the end of the line. You just have to decide if what you are getting is worth the cost. Are you getting something of long term value or something that is fleeting and temporary? I leave that for you to decide.

My message, however, is that you do have an option. The high you get from running is simply hard to beat. Most everything about it is positive. It focuses on the upside. If handled properly, think of what you get. No shame. No regrets. No hangover. No loss of memory. No embarrassment. Just the grand feeling of having accomplished something worthwhile...and perhaps the joy of having influenced others for good in the process. what other kind of high can give you all that?