There are, of course, noticeable benefits of running: it shapes how we look physically being the most obvious. Some of the most profound benefits of running are less obvious, hidden from the mind’s eye.

 This series of posts look at these secret benefits of running: How does running make us better able to manage our emotions? How does it help us to navigate the highs and lows of life? How does it help us with our relationships and show up as the best version of ourselves?

 What made me first go out for a ‘run’ (shuffle would be a better verb) when I was thirteen, twenty-five years ago?

Interestingly, it is probably the same complex mix of motivations that makes me run so much now: part ego and vanity – wanting validation and to be ‘good’ at something; part down to the simple enjoyment of and addiction to exercising; partly because I wanted to feel less anxious.

Would that skinny, self-conscious adolescent have classified it as feeling anxiety at the time? I doubt I had the self-awareness – but I knew that I really struggled to switch off my mind, and that I had a continual feeling of worry that never seemed to disappear.

Now that feeling of anxiety still remains: it’s a part of my personality that I have grown to accept. I’ve tried every trick in the game to ‘overcome’ (in reality an impossible project) it: therapy, meditation, giving up alcohol for half a decade.

The most helpful and constant of that cheery cocktail (clearly, I left the giving up behind alcohol project well in the past) of treatments? Running.

Let’s look at three ways that running can help us to manage this most human and necessary of emotions: anxiety.  

 Gets you outside your head

 I’ve been feeling more anxious than usual over the past few weeks: lots of different projects have left me a bit overwhelmed. The most obvious sign for me is that I get stuck in the very dull and repetitive life that is inside my own head: caught up in my own thoughts, worries and concerns. I start projecting fears into the future and avoiding all the great stuff that is happening around me.

Running can be a great way to get out of that internal self-obsessing. It forces you to look outside of your own head, to take in the world around you, to focus on the movement of your feet and your breathing. I often find that my thinking slows down, and I have a clarity of thought that is often missing during the rest of day.

This is perhaps at its most therapeutic when you are running with others. The balance of concentrating on your running and the conversation with another person means it is almost literally impossible to get caught up in your own ruminations.

That time away from inner thinking helps to give you perspective and calm, giving you the respite you need to focus on the rest of the day.

Gets rid of excess energy

Anxiety rushes the body with adrenaline. It makes you feel on edge, and gives you ramped up nervous energy.

It was why I was pretty effective as a classroom English teacher for twelve years: I was pretty fired up and enthusiastic to spread the joy of Shakespeare and poetry – mostly because I was channeling lots of feelings of anxiety.

But there are negatives: when you move with speed, you lack the presence and tranquility of someone who might have a more stable nervous system. At times it feels like you are always fleeing from some kind of threat – a threat that never really materializes.

You also miss out on moments of connection and relationship building, or even appreciating all the things that are positive in your life.

What better way to healthily channel that extra energy than to run? It is why lots of research has running as more effective than anti-depressants, it literally suppresses all those feelings of adrenaline that are dominating us.

That feeling of ease that runs through us after a run is addictive, it helps you to feel calm, controlled and ready to take on whatever the world might throw at you.

Reminds you who is in control

I’ll finish on that final point. I’ve written before in this blog about being proactive, and how running is one of the most positive of the proactive habits. At times I can become reactive when trying to manage anxiety: I’ll drink too much coffee; spend too much time on my phone; slip into avoidance mode.

Running is a hugely empowering process that shows us we can take control over how we feel. We can take steps that make us feel better, less anxious and a better version of ourselves.

For me, I know my temperament will always mean that anxiety is a part of my life. I’m also pretty confident that many years into the future I’ll be using running as a healthy way to manage it.

I also know that my skinny thirteen year old self would be pretty proud of how I am now trying to use running to positively support and influence others.  

Thank you for reading.

Listen: Bella Mackie: How Running Helped me Manage my Anxiety. Runners World podcast. 

Read: Running is my Therapy by Scott Douglas.