Sure, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes can be addictive, but can running be, too? Hmm... This came up on a recent walk with a friend. Carol and I looped Greenlake and she mentioned how she knows some folks in the ultra-marathon  community (people who run 50, 75, 100+ miles at a time) who are recovering drug addicts.

Carol mentioned how for these extreme runners, in a sense, one addiction was given up for another. In this case, a chemical dependancy was exchanged for a runner's high (see this article in Science Daily on treating alcoholism).

Maybe running is addictive?

I mean, running, like most sports, releases Endorphins into brain. This simulates some of the same sensations that occur from narcotics (though, probably to a lesser extent).

Jogging along, one foot in front of the other for hours on end is tough. And yet, people still do it. Maybe it HAS to be addictive, otherwise the trails and streets in the NW wouldn't be as packed as they are with enthusiasts.

But that's just my thoughts on it. What do you think? Is running addictive, or is a "Runner's High" just a covert marketing ploy by the big shoe companies?

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-R4C