Mental Health and Running

Shin splints, factures, and sprains – what do all of these things have in common? Besides being some of the most common injuries in running, they are all physical problems. Unfortunately, when we think of injuries or illnesses that effect runners or even any athlete, they are always physical.

However, these are not the only kind of problems that effect athletes. There are an extremely large proportion of young athletes that are struggling with some form of a mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illnesses, “One in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness.” This statistic is especially frightening for college athletes, who are experiencing so many new changes in life. When you add up the stresses of athletics, classes, and being away from home it can set a person over the edge.

If this is not enough evidence, take the story of nineteen-year-old Madison Holloran, who was a freshman runner for the cross-country and track teams at Pennsylvania University into consideration. This young runner was the former state champion in the 800 meter run in high school, had a 3.5 GPA her first semester of college, and even placed 69^th at the regional cross-country meet for the University of Pennsylvania.

Despite her success, she was still having feelings of self-harm and eventually ended up jumping to her death off a parking garage, committing suicide. In an interview with Inquisitor.com, Madison’s mom claimed, “I knew she needed a therapist, but I couldn’t get her an appointment because it was the weekend.”

When an athlete gets hurt there is always a trainer right by their side; but what support are we providing for athletes who are suffering from a mental illness? It seems that athletic departments do not handle psychological concerns the same way they do physical concerns. According to Nicole Noren’s article Taking Notice of The Hidden Injury, “at many schools, mental health resources are downright sparse when compared to those dedicated to the physical health of the athletes [and] many athletic programs have medical staffs of more than a dozen people, yet fewer than 25 Division I athletic departments have a full-time licensed mental health practitioner on staff.”

Considering the revenue that college athletes bring to their university and the NCAA, these organizations should be taking better care of their athletes. The fact that we are cutting psychological resources is a huge problem since suicide now ranks as the third leading cause of death for young adults. How many more deaths will it take for these organizations to realize this is a problem? It seems this issue is in our hands. It is time to take a stand and protect our athletes.

The Running Ethics: How Far Is Too Far?

How far are you willing to go to ensure your success in running? It all comes down to ethics. There are three principles that I use to help guide my decisions and they have never failed me; I refer to these guidelines as “The Running Ethics.”

1.  Never compromise who you are. I would never make a decision that goes against my beliefs, morals, or values. No matter how much it may improve my running, I would never do something that compromises who I am or what I stand for.
2. Think about your actions from a different perspective. When you put yourself in another person’s shoes and review your actions, it can completely change your perspective on an issue. Although throwing elbows or cutting someone off in a race may seem like an easy way to get ahead, when you look at it from the perspective of another racer, these actions would never be permissible.
3. Always think about the future. I would never do anything to compromise my future or harm it in anyway. This includes my health, reputation, and even my faith. 

If any of these guidelines are compromised in the process of improving my running performance, it’s not worth it. I have found that having ethical guidelines before approaching a situation has made it so much easier to make decisions. What are your experiences with ethical decisions in running? I’d love to hear your feedback.

"Running, Cheaper Than Therapy"

“Running, cheaper than therapy.”

We’ve all seen this quote plastered on t-shirts, tanks, and other running apparel - but is it actually true? According to a recent study there may be some validity to this saying.

In a recent article, Running As Treatment for Depression, published in Comprehensive Psychiatry, a pilot study was conducted in attempt to determine if running has beneficial effects for patients seeking medical treatment for depression. The study consisted of 13 males and 15 female patients that were randomly assigned to either running, time-limited psychotherapy, or unlimited time psychotherapy as treatment. The patients assigned to the running group met with a group leader in the beginning of the study who taught them basic running skills such as breathing techniques, pace, distance, nutrition, and hydration; they ran with the instructor and on their own throughout the course of the ten week study.

By the end of the study the results showed that running was as effective as both types of psychotherapy for alleviating the patients symptoms. The article contributes this success rate to multiple changes that took place in the patient such as a biochemical change in the brain, consciousness alteration, substituting addictions for positive habits, gaining patience, mastering a skill, and distraction from their symptoms.

Unfortunately, there is some debate about how accurate this study’s results are. The control groups were very small, so it is hard to make any generalizations about the results found. It is also important to take into consideration those who showed little or no improvement by running. Two people dropped out before the trial even started and two women who did participate in the study showed very little improvement. However, the two patients who showed very little improvement had difficulties. One of the patients did not participate actively, not running as she was supposed to, and the other patient had a very negative attitude toward this treatment believing it would never work.

Although clearly still in the experimental stage, if running takes off as a form of treatment, depression could be much cheaper and more convenient to treat. According to the article, “the relative cost of treating one depressed patient is $115 for running versus $500 for psychotherapy..[so] if the treatments are equally effective in terms of outcome of depression, running is four times more cost effective as for this common health problem.”

Running also provides additional positive side effects for a person’s physical health as well as emotional health. This is often not the case with other forms of therapy like drug treatment, which has an enormous list of negative side effects.


So, apparently runners are not (that) crazy. Our silly quote we plaster on apparel, mugs, and even bumper stickers may have some truth behind it.

For further information feel free to consult the entire article Running As Treatment for Depression here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010440X79900580

Clif Bars: A Nutritious Snack or Glorified Candy Bar?

After a hard workout I always want to fuel my body; the problem is I usually don’t have time. It’s hard enough to fit a long run into my crazy schedule as it is, so I often look to protein or energy bars to refuel in between meals. I am always looking for new tasty bars to try out, and one of my most recent encounters was Clif Bars.

When it comes to reviewing nutrition bars, I generally look at these basic categories: overall calories, nutritional value, protein to sugar ratio, taste, and flavor variety.

When it comes to overall calories, Clif bars generally run between 200-250 calories. This not too bad, considering the amount of calories burnt during my run just before this.

The nutritional value of the bar is questionable.  It contains over 30 ingredients with the first one listed as Organic Brown Rice Syrup – another form of sugar.

If you look at the sugar ratio it is quite high; most bars range between 12-23 grams per bar. The Clif Crunch bars usually are around 12 grams, while the regular Clif bars are typically closer to 23. The protein ratio also depends on what bar you look at. The Clif Crunch bars usually contain 2-3 grams of protein per serving, while the regular Clif bars tend to have about 10. 

When it comes to flavor, Clif Bars have just about nailed it. The Clif Crunch line runs 6 different flavors and the regular Clif line runs 22. There is literally a flavor for just about anyone. 

The problem with Clif bars is their flavors tend to be inconsistent. All of the Clif Crunch flavors that I tried including the blueberry crisp, white macadamia nut, and chocolate chip were delicious! But I was very disappointed with the regular Clif line. I am typically a chocolate lover, but not even I could finish their chocolate chip flavor. I ended up throwing over half the bar away! The texture of it was overly sticky and chewy. The Clif Crunch texture was much better; however a person should note it is very messy to eat.

Overall, it seems the Clif bar is lacking in crucial areas. While there are many flavor varieties and most of them seem to be tasty, the nutritional content of the bar is extremely low. With such a low protein count and high sugar content, Clif bars are nothing more than a glorified candy bar! Therefore when it comes to rating these bars I only give it two out of five stars.

Friendly Competition

Amen - this is the last word that I hear before the start of every race. It is a tradition started by one of my high school teammates, Allison, and one that I continue to carry out today.

Luckily for me, this is not the only trait that I picked up from her. Allison Roeth has competed six times at the state level in high school, and is now a Division I athlete, running varsity cross-country and track at Ohio University. She has been running competitively for eight years now and is still going strong.

Allison started out running in junior high, following the footsteps of her older brother. She claims, “I was such a copycat little sister, I just did whatever he did.” She never imagined that this decision would have such an impact on her life. However, since then, it has become all about running for her.

A successful high-school career is one thing, but it takes a lot of discipline to compete at the college level. The training is demanding including, on average 80-mile weeks. This quickly drains the body, both physically and mentally, especially on a student-athlete.

Despite her biggest challenge of becoming mentally tired of running, Allison still loves to do it. It is not only a hobby that she shares with her teammates, who have become her best friends, but an essential part of her day. It allows her to escape the stresses of life and goof off for a bit.

Although, she has worked hard and persevered through her difficulties to achieve such success, she gives all her credit to God. Allison claims, “not everyone is able to run competitively, so the position and opportunities I have is all God.”

Her favorite days to run are the ones that capture the beauty of God’s creation the most. Allison claims, “I love going on runs on beautiful days and seeing God's creation; it's hard not to think about what He's made on those kind of runs.”

We may not be on the same team anymore, but Allison still continues to inspire me today with her faith-driven attitude and accomplishments. I am thankful to still be able to compete together, even if we are wearing different jerseys.

Me, Allison, and Nikki (another girl from our high school team) at the Ohio University Invitational