While winters in Wisconsin require people who enjoy getting outside for a run to stay inside and enjoy the monotonous, gerbil-like nature of running on a treadmill, the uncharacteristically warm winter this year has been incredibly refreshing for someone who likes to be one with nature while exercising. 

Finding the time to run outside during a day filled with classes, writing articles to share with you amazing people and contemplating what the future may bring seems to limit finding time to run.

But implementing time into your day to run and experience the plentiful trails that Eau Claire has to offer is something that can take you away from the hectic college lives that we lead. 

As someone who’s been running since I discovered my long-distance abilities in middle school, the journey that running has taken me on is a long, complicated trail with many hills to climb much like one’s journey throughout their life course. 

The mental impact that running has on someone is greater than you think and the fulfillment of a good run, no matter the distance, can go a long way in improving your long-term happiness, hence the term runner’s high.

A runner’s high is best described by Healthline as a “brief, deeply relaxing state of euphoria.” While not every run endures this sense of runner’s high while you’re in the state of running, the sense of joy that you feel after a run makes it seem like a burden has been lifted. 

Now if you’re a crazy person like myself who’s competed in half-marathons, annual Turkey Trots on Thanksgiving and even competed on the collegiate cross country team for a brief time, running can become quite an obsessive hobby to pick up. 

Running in that particular half-marathon was quite a rewarding experience, having never competed in one before or prepared months in advance to train for it. While the training pales in comparison to the intensity of cross country workouts, the half-marathon training experience is very challenging no matter how much you can endure. 

It helps that for this particular half marathon, I was motivated by the course taking us a lap inside and around Lambeau Field (taking a Lambeau Leap of course). Running 13.1 miles in the spring heat through the streets of Green Bay was grueling in parts but the inner David Goggins in my head was telling me to carry the boats that day. 

Finishing that half marathon was the ultimate runner’s high, knowing that not only had I finished this race, but had placed in the top 50 for the entire half marathon. The congratulations I received from my mom and aunt watching from the crowd only added more to the excitement. 

But even if you’re a running junkie or someone who’s trying to challenge themselves physically for the better, I can’t recommend running enough, no matter the distance. Especially if you’re one to enjoy running through Carson Park or on the Chippewa River Trail. 

So if you’re having a rough day where that assignment on Canvas isn’t getting done anytime soon, lace up the running shoes and put on music that motivates you (AC/DC or Iron Maiden preferably, but I don’t judge) and go out on a run. You’ll be thanking yourself later for the benefits that you’ll experience out on your run. 

Mikalofsky can be reached at [email protected].