Just last month, a new study out of Germany has once again brought the idea of a “runner’s high” back into discussion. For year’s runners and other endurance athletes extolled the glories of exercise, and scientists theorized that chemicals released by the brain called endorphins would make and athlete feel better, even produce a high in some cases.

You’d be hard pressed to find a serious athlete who doesn’t seek out this endorphin buzz. Problem is, there’s never been any scientific proof that it actually backs it up.

That is until now. In a report published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, Dr. Henning Boecker described how his study used PET scans and chemicals that measure endorphins in the brain to determine test athletes both before and after a two-hour run.

The sample was rather small (10 runners), but Boecker discovered that endorphins were indeed produced and had attached themselves to parts of the brain associated with emotion.

“Some people have these really extreme experiences with very long or intensive training,” Boecker told the New York Times.

 “You could really see the difference after two hours of running,” he said. “You could see it in their faces.”

That’s an experience most endurance athletes recognize. But does the possible proof of something that most athletes intuitively know mean make much of a difference?

Perhaps. Some athletes report never feeling the “runner’s high,” and the lack of pleasure derived from exercise is one of the biggest reasons people stop. If researchers can better understand how endorphins work, athletes may better be able to use them to their advantage.

Until this happens, anecdotal evidence will have to suffice to convince people of the benefits of endurance sports. And if the number of athletes and events are any indications, it seems to be working. 

Why Do You Do It?

Zach Gingerich, ultrarunner

How did you get into endurance sports?

I had always thought about ultras when I was a kid. The Mohican Trail 100 Mile Race was close to my house in northeast Ohio, and I always admired people who could do that. In college, I did marathons. And after college one day, I signed up for a 100K race in Virginia, and fell in love with it. Honestly, I was bored and wanted a challenge. It fit for me, with my ability to run slow and long.

What would you say to a non-participant to try to make him understand why you exercise to the degree that you do?

A lot of people think we’re crazy. It’s really about pushing yourself and finding out what limits you have, both physically and mentally. These races test everything about you. It’s a nice diversion from regular, everyday life. When you’ve got a 100-miler coming up, it puts everything else in check.

Have you ever suffered a setback, such as an injury?

I have been injured plenty of times. I generally try to run through my injuries. I was not prepared for the first race I did—it was a 100K, and it wasn’t even an easy one. I injured my iliotibial band. It swelled up to the point where I couldn’t bend my leg anymore. I shuffled for the last 30 miles. I had dehydration and hallucinations, but I got to eat hamburgers halfway through the race, which I thought was pretty cool!

What goes through your mind when in the middle of a really long run?

There’s a lot of time to think about your life and what your goals are. Once I’m up in high mileage, crazy stuff goes through my mind. There’s a lot of paranoia; I don’t know where anybody is, I don’t know if I’m lost. But basically it’s a time to search and analyze. When I’m racing, if I’m doing well, strategy is my No. 1 priority. One of the challenges of ultramarathoners is keeping yourself fueled when you don’t feel like eating or drinking. It’s a challenge to think of what I can put into my body to make me feel better.

What is your day-to-day exercise routine?

I wake up at 4 a.m. and run at 4:30 with a friend. We usually run together for an hour and then I’ll tack on some miles depending on the day. I run after work a couple days a week. The weekends are for long runs. I try to run at least 30 miles on Saturday and a couple hours on Sunday. The trick is that the Saturday run gives me the benefit of being sore and tired, so that shorter Sunday run feels as if it’s the same distance. I run about 120 miles a week.

What benefits does your lifestyle afford you?

I get to eat whatever what I want, and that’s fantastic. I get to meet a lot of cool people from all over the country. A lot of people at these races have cool stories. I get to do a lot of traveling as well—to Colorado, to Utah, to run in the mountains. It’s beautiful. —Ellen Clapp

Zach Gingerich lives in Aurora.