Chapter 3 "Running Life" - 2 Psychological Changes

2 Your Brain Changes The exploration of mind and body phenomena Few areas of the mind are more fascinating to explore than the changes that running causes in your brain.These changes are profound and far-reaching, and can provide clues to understanding the complex relationship between our mind and body. During the months of research I did for this book, I traveled a lot and talked to all kinds of runners and others who I hoped would provide me with information about running. aspects of the situation. Nearly every conversation begins with a specific question in mind, such as running after a heart attack, strategy during a race, or the types of muscle tissue involved in running.For a period of time, we were able to hold on to that question and talk.But after a while, the conversation would slip to an issue I hadn't even mentioned, which was about the state of mind while running.What's on the runner's mind?How does exercise change people?Everyone seems to be secretly interested in these questions, and a surprising number of people keep them on their minds.I found this to be a very odd phenomenon and ended up asking Joe Henderson what he thought about these issues.Henderson, editor-in-chief of Runner's World, thinks about running as deeply as anyone alive."I'm not surprised," he told me. "I think the psychological aspects of running are going to be the next big area of ​​research. That's where the big discoveries will be made."

I agree with this view.Our society at present places a great deal of emphasis on meditation, meditation, mind-strengthening exercises, methods learned from the East, and similar activities to make us spiritually fulfilled beings.Judging from the reports of those who carry out these activities, these activities have sometimes been very effective.But these activities sometimes do not work.I feel that in many cases it is due to the fact that these activities do not fit closely with the inherent traits and idiosyncrasies of the individual character.On the contrary, although running often brings about profound changes in people, the changes come entirely from within, and thus are closely integrated with the whole personality of the person.

In this chapter, I'm going to talk about the psychological changes that running causes.First we'll consider some of the emotions that runners experience after their runs, based on their reports.Second, we'll look at how the psychology of running works to make a difference in your life. Most of the people I talk to tell me that they feel that running benefits them psychologically.This doesn't surprise me, since I've known it myself for a long time.As I've said, some of the benefits are easy to explain: Feeling increased brain power and focus, feeling sharper than before (you don't necessarily notice these benefits every day, or after every run. But Most of the time, these benefits are objective.) Since our everyday language is often not used to describe these phenomena, other benefits are more difficult to describe in words.To take just one example: the qualities and abilities that are important to running—factors like willpower, the ability to exert strength at extreme fatigue, and the ability to endure pain—are imbued with a subtle influence on one's life. strength.

"Running Life" - 2 Psychological Changes People I've talked to describe these phenomena in eloquent, even poetic terms.It seems that they are good at expressing their thoughts not because they are smart or good at words.Whenever the conversation turned to the mental aspects of running, they displayed a striking eloquence. Nancy Gerstein is an example.She was a young editor at The New Yorker when I spoke to her.She later left that weekly to work for George Plimpton & Co.Nancy runs six miles four or five times a week.She said to me, “Running makes me feel in control of my life. I feel like I’m doing things for myself, not someone else. Beginning and Ending: I set a goal and reach it. I love that running is hard. Since you have to work hard to finish it, you feel great after the run. Proper running will make you It was a pleasure."

Alan Rip was a young man in his early twenties who had been suffering from asthma for several years. (He told me that every time he gasped, it was so horrible that he couldn't think about anything else.) Then he started running.Although he was careful not to say that running had cured his asthma, he was sure that it was easier to bear when he was sick.Rip said: "Running is the most amazing thing in my life. Running is the center of my daily life, the source of everything. Running gives my life a sense of rhythm. Running is not just a game or a sport, not just a game. Just outside of life; running is part of life. It's an adjective, it's used to describe me."

Ted Corbett was a member of the 1952 Olympic Marathon Team and became the United States Marathon Champion two years later.He had run nearly one hundred and ninety marathons, many longer ones and countless shorter ones, and he certainly had no romantic thoughts about running anymore.When I spoke to him, however, he spoke softly and with room for it: "People can ease their nerves after a run, and it's like having your own psychiatrist. You have all kinds of Feeling. Feeling joy sometimes. Everyone benefits from running, sometimes knowingly and sometimes not.One thing that almost always happens is that your sense of self-worth improves.Your confidence in yourself increases a little. "

Nina Cusick is another veteran distance runner.She won first place in the women's group of the Boston Marathon in 1972.She said to me, "We don't have much freedom in our lives anymore. Running sets you free. When you run, you can run at your own pace. You can go where you want, you can think about your own things. No one asks anything of you. "Joe Henderson said: "Running is what children do, it is a primitive activity.I think that's the appeal of it.You can act like a child again.You cast off all chains of civilization.You rejuvenate when you run. " But the clearest illustration of the problem comes from a runner named Mark Hanson in Millburn, New Jersey, who told me: "Running is life. Everything else is just waiting."

Hansen is not alone in equating running with life.When I talk to people all over the country, I read "Running Life" - 2 Psychological Changes Finding that many of them consider the time when they are running to be their happiest, partly because running can effectively eliminate anxiety, depression and other unpleasant mental states, Monte David, a Brooklyn, New York "Long distance running is an ideal antidepressant because you don't tend to feel sorry for yourself while you're running, and there's a clear-headed moment after a long run," runners in Boston told me. “I feel less tantrum and less weird when I run,” says Beth Richardson, a talented newspaper columnist in Sarasota, Florida, named It's Bill Copeland. Reader's Digest and other publications often quote his punchlines.He had these inspiring words about running on the beach: "When you run barefoot on a sandy beach where the waves beat, you step into the wet, soft sand and get Everyone knows the benefits of a foot massage. It’s the next best thing to a spiritual massage for a low mood.” Finally, Russell Gallup, another runner in New Jersey, said: “A few years out of college, I was hit by a combination of an unhappy marriage and a broken leg. I was psychologically traumatized by having to get a divorce and physically limited by knee surgery.

I was stuck physically and mentally.It seemed that the logical way to restore normal function to my knee was to run.The unexpected bonus is that my psychological trauma has also healed. " The feelings these runners talked about are backed by science.Richard Driscoll, a psychologist at Eastern State Psychiatric Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, found that running makes people worry less, especially if they think about pleasant things while running.Dr. Michael B. Mork of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute told me: "For many reasons, most people in society have a tendency to feel depressed, and physical activity has been found to deal with depression because it increases their self-esteem. and independent spirit.” I even met Dr. John Grester, a psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin.He once arranged a group of patients who were abnormally depressed to either run for ten weeks or undergo traditional spiritual therapy for ten weeks, and finally found that running was more effective.

Other observers also attest to the pleasurable feeling that running brings.Dr. Frederick D. Harper of the Howard University School of Education presented a report on a half-year research program.One of the goals of the research project was to estimate the psychological changes that occurred when students progressed from being able to run a quarter mile to running a few miles.Less worry, increased libido, and increased confidence in themselves, including—in Dr. Hubble's words—“confidence in their bodies,” as part of the results, were reported by those who participated in the research program. Some side effects of the plan were also mentioned in the report: "The students were dominated by the spectators as they jogged on the track, and by the soccer players who were practicing on the field at the same time. The girls were initially at the mercy of the male spectators who made wisecracks. Feeling ashamed. At the end of the jogging program, the girls were respected for their ability and stamina as the distance they ran increased to four or five miles. Some footballers even said the runners inspired them to practice harder.”

Dr. Herbert A. de Vries of the University of Southern California School of Medicine and Gene M. Adams of the University's Center for Gerontology also reported the reduction in worry that Dr. Hubble et al. De Vries and Adams enlisted volunteers at Leisure World, a retirement group in Laguna Hills, California.The volunteers ranged in age from fifty-two to seventy years old; they all had the following symptoms: nervousness, insomnia, irritability, constant annoyance, and panic in various daily situations. Volunteers were tested under three conditions.One situation is after they take four "Running Life" - 2 Psychological changes 100 milligrams of urethane sedative powder—a widely used sedative—after they took an identical-looking placebo, and again after they exercised moderately for fifteen minutes. It turned out that the exercise reduced the nervousness of the volunteers more effectively than taking sedatives. * Dr. Terrence Kavanagh, medical director of a nursing home in Toronto, Canada, says most of the heart patients who take part in his running program say their "mood and spirit have improved a lot." Alan Clark, St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta "Exercise, as we all know, is the best sedative," said Dr. "I refuse to administer drugs to patients with symptoms of general neurogenic anxiety until an aerobic exercise program has been adequately attempted." Note: *Even without a formal research report as the basis, most runners have come to appreciate the calming effect of running.Robert Gene Feinberg, of Beaverton, Oregon, said: "I analyze the market by profession. This profession puts me under great pressure every day, but when I know that the road a few miles after get off work When it’s as smooth as silk, nothing seems to matter. Running does more for the mind than all the tranquilizers in the world.”Similarly, Dr. Stephen D. Storey, an orthopedic surgeon in Salinas, California, says: "I've found that running frees me from a lot of the stress of seeing patients in private. I usually run in the middle of the day, I feel like I have far less trouble in the afternoon. I have completed my meditation program and I have been meditating regularly for a while. Running does much the same for me as meditation does." In a typical research project at Purdue University, sixty middle-aged faculty members (whose jobs are sedentary) participated in a four-month exercise program that focused on running.Before and after they participated in this project, their personalities were tested according to the Cartel Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire, a standard test method. Later, it was found that as the physical fitness of the test participants increased, their emotions were relatively stable. , more confident, more imaginative, and more confident. In my observations of the psychological changes caused by running, I found that many writers have been thinking about this question for a period of time.Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes, wrote: "I can still vividly remember running barefoot as a child on the wet, firm sand by the sea The air there had a peculiar quality, as if it had a life of its own. I heard nothing but the lapping of the surf on the shore, and nothing else. I was amazed at the extreme excitement that could be induced by just a few steps. , and almost frightened. It was a moment of extreme tension, a discovery of a source of power and beauty that had not even been dreamed of before. This sense of movement was an extra, perhaps a subtle combination of all the others .” Another long-distance runner—a woman—said: "My jogging is a symbol of my active participation in life." A long-distance runner named Annette McDaniel in Bethesda, Maryland Say, "I experience a state of complete unity of mind and body." Finally, a runner named David Bradley once wrote an article in the New York "Village Voice" magazine, describing one of his runs in this passage: The brain waves on my EEG are relaxation normal brain waves. My pain feels much worse than most people (unless they are sick or injured), yet I feel relieved, a few almost happy.I go deep into my inner world, yet I am fully aware of my surroundings.. I am no longer touching the ground: I am moving, floating in the air.The slope is not a hill, it's just a bit thicker air, so I can breathe deeply and straighten up without any effort.My body was producing bursts of a hormone called adrenaline, which researchers believe is linked to an unusually euphoric feeling, and this combined with normal brainwaves and repetitive gait movements (which A Buddhist mantra) lifted my spirits better than anything else I could do while abiding by the law and not taking drugs. Many of the states these people describe are of course very much like the ones we all have in our lives at times, whether we run or not.The important difference is that running makes this state more predictable; if you're a runner, you can make it happen when you want it to happen. Some runners even say that running takes a state of mind so far removed from everyday life that most of us can't imagine it.Michael Murphy, founder of the Esalen Association, said many athletes are "talking mystics", people who have unusual experiences during competition. * Mike Spino, athletic director of Esalen Associates, writes: "Running . factor." Notes: *For example, a professional soccer player once spoke of a game in which all players had a mysterious "aura".He said he could tell from an athlete's "aura, which way the person was going to move. As I write this book, John Walker of New Zealand is the fastest man ever to run a mile (3:49.4).In this wonderful passage he describes his victory in an Olympic 1,500m race.He said: "As I was running to the front, I had a flash in my head that I had to win. I didn't look back, but I realized that someone was chasing me very fast. I knew it was Rick Wall of the United States. Hugher, although I can't see who it is. I just know it's him. I'm giving it my all. But I go into a state of mental overrun, completely at the mercy of the subconscious. I've had this in previous games as well. This is the case. I can't explain why. I beat Walshett." Not long ago, I reread "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James, and I was struck by how similar the runner's language was to that of many of the mystics whose inner workings James explored.Is it pure chance, as already mentioned, that there are more games on Sunday morning than at any other time?maybe.Yet explicit references to the religious nature of running are not hard to find.Corian Nathanbenny, a thirty-year-old runner in Arizona, told me that in 1976 she "really converted" to a believer in running.Then she added: "I don't think I'm too far in comparing my experience to a conversion." Significantly, no one has fully investigated the mental changes induced by running.Although several writers—Roger Bannister, Joe Henderson, Jocha Sheen, and psychiatrist Thaddeus Costrubala are prominent representatives—have spoken of this Problems, but no one has tried to fully paint "Running Life" - 2 Psychological Changes Psychiatric phenomena associated with running.Arnold R. Bessel talks about the reasons for this in his book "The Madness of Sport": "There is an understandable reluctance to learn more about what sport means. We prefer not to learn too much about what we hold dear . . . The lover of a beautiful woman always shields his opinion of her from anything that might detract from her beauty. He feels 'better not to add to the snake.' This It’s just a general attitude that Americans have about their love of sports.” Still, a handful of adventurous thinkers have tried to figure out what it is about a movement that has such a powerful fascination for us.Let's see how much their thoughts say about the experience of running. If we delve a little deeper into the meaning of sport, we end up at the source of much of today's thinking on the subject: John Huizinga's profoundly allegorical Man Is a Gamer, mentioned earlier. : A Study of Play Factors in Culture.This book was published in 1949. In the book, it is believed that the most appropriate definition of man is not that man is a wise man or a creator, but that man is a player.The way it works, Huizinga says, is because of our tendency to turn all aspects of life — no matter how serious — into a game.Beethoven was playing games when he wrote his Fifth Symphony.Faulkner was playing a different game when he wrote his complex novel about Yoknapataufa County.Whether it is the general manager of the company, a general, or a surgeon, we are playing games when we go to work. If we accept the idea that our life is playing games, might it not also be true that what we call play is in fact a part of our lives to the extent that More than we may have felt so far to be.This helps explain why hockey fans are obsessed to a frenzied degree, why chess players are as absorbed as monks, and why some are working with academic zeal to improve batters' average scoring rate. None of this, however, explains why exercise is so ingrained in our lives.So we need to turn to another book for another clue.This book is "Movement: A Philosophical Exploration" by Paul Weiss. Weiss believes that champion athletes are not just champion athletes; they are physically perfect.We love watching Roswell's backhand, not just for his backhand, but for the pure, idealized, platonic perfection his ball embodies. * The same goes for running, whether it's a champion's run or our own.A champion runner—shall we say Bill Rogers or Philbert Bay—was in perfect shape, and so must our own.The next time you watch a race, notice that many minutes (or even hours in the case of a long-distance race like a marathon) after the winner runs to the finish line, the faces of the people crossing the finish line The ecstatic expression revealed.These slower runners worked as hard as the winners and, like the winners, overcame fatigue and too much pain endured for too long.From a game point of view, they have reached the highest level within their ability.It's a rare and beautiful feeling. Note: *Because of this, we care a lot about the moral character of the athletes, and we don’t care much about whether they are "but "Running Life"——2 Psychological changes love". In the case of perfect physicality, these considerations are irrelevant. Movement has other effects too, if we allow it to do so.For example, sports can teach us about the limits of human power.Because exercise gives us nowhere to hide, it also teaches us to be honest.In short, it gives us some insight into personal perfection.If we give sport the respect and attention it deserves, it teaches us something about pleasure. These things cannot be learned in the classroom by formal lectures.These things are bits and pieces of knowledge learned bit by bit through Bannister's "extra senses".Such knowledge is much more impressive and memorable because it is acquired with great pains.In Leisure: The Foundation of Culture, Joseph Pelang says that people do not believe in rewards that come with little effort: “(People) Only by enjoying what he has worked so hard for can he have a clear conscience. The "toil" of running is enough to satisfy the most puritanical athlete, and this is one of the most obvious pleasures of running. The easiest way to understand this seemingly paradoxical phenomenon is to think about the pain you feel while running.It's possible to run without pain, but as soon as you start looking for ways to improve, pain—or at least some mild distress—will follow.Let's assume you're used to running a mile a day.You want to increase your running distance.So one day you decide to figure out how to run two miles.You can do it, no doubt, but when you're running towards the finish line, you're going to get tired and your legs will feel heavy.At that point, you keep running and you feel worse.Pain is the result of your mind fighting your legs, your mind telling your body to "keep running" while your legs are pleading, "For God's sake, let's stop Bar!" The degree of pain while running depends on the intensity of the physical and mental struggle.If you just want to run two miles, you can slow down and relieve the discomfort, maybe just a constant pain.However, if you're sprinting despite the pain or not (as you might if you were competing with an opponent in a race, for example), it can be quite painful. (One doctor compared it to the pain of childbirth, not unbearable, but not particularly pleasant either.) However, that sharp pain, or worse, is something that runners often experience.Rick Walshett once said, "I'd put up with any pain to win a race." But if discomfort is the right price to pay for victory, it's not about pain Core.In most games, even important ones, the rewards are trivial—a small souvenir or medal, a round of applause.In training for running, the reward is simply something you give yourself—a break, a big cold drink, and finally the satisfaction of going home. So why are runners so willing to suffer, even ask for it?I think this is due to the close relationship between pain and pleasure.About two thousand years ago, Seneca said: "A certain kind of pleasure is a relative of pain." Socrates said: "What a strange thing is called pleasure, and what a strange relationship it has to pain. Life"——2 Psychological Changes Because people may think that suffering is the opposite of happiness. ..However, whoever seeks pain or pleasure generally has to accept the opposite of the desire. Pain and pleasure are two bodies, but they are connected by a head. "Richard Stiller clarified the relationship between pain and pleasure in his book "Pain: Why, Where, and When": "We think that pain and pleasure are opposites.Our language, however, exposes possible confusion between the two.We say that pleasure is so intense that it is 'unbearable', that we are 'unbearable'.We talk about 'intense' pain.Physiologically, anguish and ecstasy appear to be very similar. " Pleasure hides in pain, something most runners are familiar with.At the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 1975, a spectator named Kitty Davis noticed a runner crying.His face was twitching like a child's, and tears were streaming down his tanned cheeks.Mrs. Davis asked, "Sir, why are you crying? Are you hurt?" The athlete replied, "No, I cried because I was so happy." So perhaps we need to experience pain, and through suffering experience hapiness.However, in addition to this, our running can also meet other needs.Among them: Requires activity.Watch the children play.They ran for a while, rested for a while, and ran again.They sometimes run fast, sometimes jog, sometimes for short periods of time, and sometimes for longer periods of time.After we entered school, running became more formal.We run a few yards on the football field, or ninety feet on the baseball field.Once out of school, we hardly ran at all—our lifestyles slowly squeezed running out of our lives.Yet the need to run never leaves us, and if we don't find a way to keep going, our bodies won't. Need to stand out.In Science and Sport, Vaughn Thomas says that for a large part of our lives, other people rule our lives—the class president, the boss, the mother-in-law.In this way, the need to stand out always disappears without a trace.Running gives us an acceptable means of distinguishing ourselves in society, and we can compete whenever we want to—with ourselves or with others.If you make it too obvious at work that you want to climb the ranks and leave your colleagues behind, people will resent your behavior.But in a race, you can run ahead and leave others behind, and as long as you are at least superficially humble in doing so, people will admire you. Need to alternate tension and relaxation.Dr. Hans Sely of the University of Montreal has been studying stress for forty years.He believed that each of us was born with a certain amount of what he called adaptive energy. After this energy is used up, we break down mentally or physically.One way to avoid such a breakdown is to consciously tense up the various systems of the body.In his book Tension, Not Pain, Dr. Sely writes: "A voluntary change in activity is equal to, or better than, a rest . . . Math problems, then going swimming is better than sitting still. Switching from using our brains to using our muscles not only gives our brains a rest, but also helps to avoid the distress of interrupting our thoughts. Stressing one system helps relax the other. "First Citibank (one of the largest banks in the world) Medical director Dr. Clinton Wayman found that if staff worked at an optimal level of stress, they were less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, excess weight and other diseases.Too much or too little tension is related to multiple illnesses. Suppose you work at an agency and you come home exhausted.You dread the thought of running, however, as soon as you start running, you feel better, and after half an hour, you're back to normal.You may feel tired, but you will be surprised to find that you are not tired at all.This is a happy discovery. Need to control ourselves.Too many of us live undisciplined lives.Running is the antidote to laziness, it enables us to fight for or against something.Roger Bannister wrote: "In all of us there is a latent desire to fight, and the more our lives are otherwise restricted, the more it is necessary to find some outlet for this desire to be free. .No one can say, 'You must never run faster than this person, and you must never jump higher than that person.' Athletes are consciously or unconsciously seeking satisfaction and feeling that they can maintain their personal dignity. Only in their body and mind You can do that when you're fully aligned and in control of yourself." Mao Zedong also agreed with this view.He wrote in 1918: "In short, any kind of exercise, if it is continued, will help to develop our perseverance. Long-distance running is especially beneficial." (The source of this passage cannot be found-- Translator's note) Indulgence is required.If we run regularly, our bodies are in good shape and can handle going too far now and then.Although the 500 calories in the chocolate treat make up for every last calorie we burn during the five-mile run, at least the difference is zero, not an excess of 500 calories.What the extra drink does, quickly wears off the next morning.A runner and actor named Jake Janino likes to eat chocolate candy while he watches TV in the evening.He said: "This sugar is not good for me. But I don't care. I run to burn off the calories." Giannino is right, although he has this vice that no one else knows, but he wants more. Being thin can be as thin as possible, which is not something everyone can do. need to play.While many of us actually stop playing at some point in our lives, we can never stop playing, no matter how old we get.Playing not only keeps us young.And it enables us to correctly understand the relative seriousness of things.Running is play, because as much as we try to get good results when we run, it is also a relief from our daily worries.These matters therefore appear less urgent.Just look at the group of runners taking part in the race.Among them may be a heart surgeon, a judge, an airline vice president, a bestselling author.Their responsibilities are heavy, but they are as light-hearted as schoolchildren.Later, when they go back to work, they'll be partly lighthearted, knowing they'll have another hour to play tomorrow. Solstadt Veblen understood this phenomenon very well when he referred to the "characteristic childishness of the athlete's character".He says this is due to the large amount of pretense that is present in all sports. ..the extent to which the pretense factor enters all sports is not the same, but the degree to which this factor is present in all sports is appreciable. " This feeling of playing is all that many people ask for from running.For example, Dale L. Van Meter of Sharon, Massachusetts, loves the way the world looks when he runs.He described going out for a run during a visit to Manhattan one morning in the spring, saying, "I've never seen Fifth Avenue's Life on the Run before—2 Psychological Changes so beautiful.The street is full of morning light, and there are no pedestrians.The New York Public Library looks freshly brushed and clean.The spire of St. Patrick's Cathedral seemed to stand taller in the morning light of that March morning.这是一种伟大的经历，也是我那次访问的高潮之一。 ”范米特从跑步感到肉体上的快乐。从亚利桑那州迪法恩斯堡二十六岁的跑步者贾尼斯·塔基塔的话中可以看出，她也有这种感觉。她说：“对我来说，跑步不是单调乏味的，而是一件不费气力的乐事。迪法恩斯堡在纳瓦霍印第安人保留地中，海拔七千英尺。我们是在一个四周有山峦、树木和艾灌丛环绕的峡谷中。下雪时跑步是激动人心的。这里有许多地方可以跑步，空气清新，没有来往的车辆。在这样一个地方跑步是不可能感到厌烦的。我喜欢在日出的时候跑步。到阳光洒满大地的时候，你身上已感到暖和，你又恢复了正常呼吸，全身感到舒适。It's great! ”我问一位九年前开始跑步的马萨诸塞州人，要是他当初没有跑步，他认为他的生活会有怎样的变化，他的回答扼要他说明了许多人从跑步发现的乐趣：“由于跑步，我的生活已变得更加激动人心，更有乐趣。春天的第一只鸟、在雪中歌唱的红雀、清晨的芳香——要是不跑步，我就会错过这些东西和许多别的东西。由于跑步，生活才变得这样丰富多彩，跑步使我得到的东西要比我失掉的东西多。 " 需要沉涸于比我们自己更伟大的某种东西之中。正如埃里克·霍弗在《真正的信徒》一书中所表明的那样）宗教和许多群众运动的吸引力在于它们能让我们忘掉自己，把自我浸沉在我们认为比我们自己伟大的事业中。在跑步时就会出现这样的情况。跑步在身心方面都是一种很紧张的活动，因而我们在跑步的时候抛掉自我意识，全神贯注于跑步。一位叫米哈伊·齐克森米哈伊的，心理学家在芝加哥大学对具有内在有益作用的活动进行了研究。他发现，每当我们参加这种活动的时候，我们就有一种他称之为“飘流”的感觉。据威廉·巴里·弗朗最近在《今日心理学》上发表的一篇报告说，在这种状态中，“我们完全浸沉在我们所做的事情中。..人失去了对他自己和对时间的自我意识。他对他的身体所从事的活动的意识增强了。 处于飘流状态的人首先发现他专心致志的程度大大增加，他对活动的反应能力大大提高了。”齐克森米哈伊博士提出的“飘流”在跑步活动中是一种常见的经历。 需要沉思。我们的生活很少允许我们有用来思考的安静的时间，除非我们特别努力规定一段时间。甚至由于善于思考而被专门雇来的人，也往往陷于日常琐事，而根本没有机会进行很多思考。跑步可以改变这种情况。我们跑步的时候，有时间顺着我们的思路想下去，电话铃不响了，客人不闯进来了。哪怕只有二十分钟，我们也能把那段时间算作我们自己的时间（只要我们愿意，我们可以用这段时间考虑我们的具体问题。我在写关于一般游戏、智力游戏和人的智力的两本书* 期间。我往往是在跑步时解决问题的。这是艰苦的工作（我不很善于不用纸和笔作数学题），但是如果我专心致志，我往往是能有所成就的。然而，我在跑步的时候最喜欢进行的思考，就是听任我的思绪自由发展。重要的不是我们想什么，而是我们终于可以自由思考了。连由于某种原因不愿意正视所想的全部问题的许多人都发现，一边跑一边想是一种愉快的、能使人在疲劳后恢复过来的运动。 注：*《智力非凡的人的游戏》（一九七二年出版）和《再谈智力非凡的人的游戏》（一九七六年出版）。 需要按照自己的节奏生活。在我们的一大部分生活中，我们常常为别人强加于我们的时间表所苦。跑步能使我们摆脱这种局面。我们想跑到哪里就跑到哪里。可以快跑。也可以慢跑，可以使劲地跑，也可以轻松地跑。我们可以单独跑，也可以同朋友们一起跑。我们可以每周外出七天，或者少出去几天，我们可以想问题，也可以什么都不想。这一切完全随我们自己选择，此外我们可以根据我们的身心的每时每刻的需要和爱好改变所选择的内容。全国心理健康研究所主任伯特伦·布朗说： “节奏就象我们的骨肉一样，是我们的身体结构的一个组成部分。以跑步使我们能按照我们的节奏调整我们的生活。当我们的节奏处于低潮的时候，我们可以十分小心地跑，也就是说慢慢跑，而且只跑很短的时间。当我们感到精力充沛、意志坚强的时候，我们可以考验一下自己，跑上陡峭的山头，走上需要我们涉过小溪和跳过倒下来的树木的崎岖小道，全速短跑，直到我们上气不接下气为止：不管我们目前需要什么，跑步都能给我们提供答案。 如果我所说的需要，事实上是人们的真正需要，而这些需要又能通过跑步得到满足，那么就应当得出结论说跑步者跟其他人有所不同。前面已经说过，跑步者意识到他们是和别人不同的，但是有没有办法能显示出跑步者认为自己得到的好处确实是存在的呢？ 有两种办法可以搜集到证据，一种办法是显示出跑步已经以具体的方式影响了具体的人的行为，一种办法是表明，尽管没有客观证据，许多人还是说他们有这样的相同的感觉，因而相信他们所说的话是有道理的。 比方说，在我还在这个部门工作的时候，我曾经收到过首都华盛顿的一个配镜师李休博士的一封信。李现在五十岁出头，七年前曾经为了健康而开始跑步。在这以前，他有一次参加会议时突然感到心跳过速，于是他变得忧虑起来。他想：“天啊，我连休息都吃不消！”李博士现在的感觉是：“有些日子，我感到自己的精力是那么充沛。我能够飞奔上我在二楼的办公室，一步跨两级楼梯。我的顾客意识到我对生活和工作的新的热忱。他们乐意介绍他们的亲戚朋友认识有这样的热情和生命力的配镜师。” 同李博士一样，大多数跑步者都发现自己的精力比不跑步的人旺盛得多。这种情况有助于使他们感到比以前更能控制自己的生活。俄勒冈州尤金市市长莱斯·安德森本身就是一个跑步者。他前不久说：“总的来说、我觉得好多了。我知道我能够干更多的体力劳动，并且体力恢复得很快。我也觉得我的精神状态比过去好一些。” 经常讲课的新泽西州医生杰克，罗森堡也同意这种观点。他说：“在跑步之后写演讲《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 稿比较容易。 " 象这样的一些经验，在纽约市埃克森保健研究室进行的一次研究中，得到了科学的证实。这个研究室的主任艾伯特·保隆博士说，在实行了六个月的锻炼计划之后，几乎每个人都说自己的工作能力有了提高。有很大一部分人说，在一天的最后时刻，他们感到不象以前那么疲劳了。这反映了我个人的经验。我在跑步之前，在午餐后往往感到昏昏欲睡，必须挨过一两小时才能使头脑清醒过来。现在我一整天都精神旺盛，晚上我一直睡得很好。 大多数跑步的人都发现自己情绪好起来了，眼界开阔了。特克斯·莫尔在他写的《带伤跑步》一书中谈到跑步如何帮助他在心脏病发作之后恢复正常的生活。关于跑步所产生的心理上的影响，他写道：“慢跑虽然不是一种纯粹的乐事，但是的确产生一种很令人愉快的副产物，我想不出有什么活动比慢跑更能使人在精神上松弛下来，更能使人完全消除紧张情绪。当你正在跑步的时候，你可以不为任何事情操心。这是一种全神贯注的活动。人在跑步完毕之后，会有一种愉快的疲劳感，加上一种完成了一件事的意识，这就可以使人在一个长时间内不产生紧张情绪。” 前面提到过的精神病医生撒迪厄斯·科斯特鲁巴拉也报告了类似的有益结果。 他在《跑步的乐趣》一书中谈到他在四十岁出头时候，体重二百三十磅。开始跑步以后，掉了五十五磅肉，也感到比较轻松，最后他很想知道跑步会对他的病人产生什么样的影响。事实证明，跑步取得了常规疗法没有取得的效果。他说：“使我感到意外而又愉快的是，跑步疗法给治疗学打开了一个新的天地，因为当我同我的病人一起跑步的时候，我的无意识机能得到加强。当我们探讨跑步对病人和治疗学的意义和刺激作用的时候，可以相当清楚地看出：作为一个治疗学家，我再也不能坚持任何老一套的条条框框了。我从心底里感到这第一批病人对我是非常可贵的。” 科斯特鲁巴拉不仅报告说他的病人的健康有了增进，而且说，自己的健康有了增进：“我们都改变了我们的生活习惯，烟抽得少了，后来有一个人戒烟了。喝酒的情况也是这样。我不再过度肥胖了。精神也振作起来了。由于少抽烟少喝酒或者完全戒绝烟酒，人们之间的非常糟糕的关系结束了。有些人的极其古怪的想法消失了，而他们的生命力和热情并没有遭到破坏。”新的朋友出现了，总之，这一批病人是成功的，而跑步和治疗相结合似乎是关键。 " 减少抽烟和喝酒是跑步的常见的副产品。每天在康涅狄格州的一个公园里跑步四到六英里的商人弗兰克·亚当斯曾经对我说：“过去我在办公室里工作得很紧张的时候，便爱在回家途中停下来喝点马丁尼酒。现在我以跑步来代替喝酒。”美国慢跑者医学会的创办人、美国体育医学院研究员罗纳德·劳伦斯不久前说过：“为了长跑，你停止抽烟了。由于同样的原因，你酒也少喝了。你更感到人生的乐趣，因为再没有烟酒拖你的后腿了。吃的习惯改变了，因为良好的营养是参加耗氧的运动的不可《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 少的条件。你的整个健康情况也得到了改善。你睡得更好了，然而需要的睡眠时间却减少了。你的性生活得到改进。忧虑减少了。你有了应付困难的更好条件。劳动生产率提高了。你离开了电视机，而开始看到你周围的新世界。 " 另一个名叫威廉·格拉泽的医生写的一本书谈到他所说的“积极的嗜好”—— 放弃象吸毒和酗酒那样的坏习惯而代之以好习惯。格拉泽医生写道：“积极的嗜好可以加强你的精神力量，它是消极的嗜好的反面。消极的嗜好似乎消耗你的生活中除了嗜好的领域之外的每一部分的力量。耽溺于消极的嗜好的人，老早就放弃了对爱情和有价值的事物的追求，而完全沉溺于他们的嗜好之中。有积极嗜好的人，享受嗜好的乐趣，但是这种嗜好并没有支配他们的生活。”格拉泽认为，跑步是培养积极的嗜好的最可靠的途径。而积极的嗜好几乎肯定能使你摆脱会使你的生活变得难受的恶习。 格拉泽并不是唯一注意到跑步能够克服恶习的人，几年前，一个安置中心的负责人库尔特.弗里曼注意到嗜酒者除了饮酒之外，再没有什么爱好。他很想知道，如果能够诱导嗜酒者对别的事情产生兴趣，会出现什么情况？碰巧，他的病人之一在中学生时代曾经是一个短跑运动员，这个人很想恢复健康。弗里曼鼓励他参加一些当地的田径赛。这个短跑运动员的健康状况改善得很快，于是弗里曼开始鼓励其他的嗜酒者都养成跑步的习惯。现在，弗里曼在加利福尼亚州每年举行一次嗜酒者奥林匹克运动会。一九七六年，约有一千五百名男女运动员参加了这个运动会。弗里曼的第一批嗜酒的跑步者之一最近谈到他跑步的体会时说：“跑步比其他任何事物都更能帮助我节制饮酒，了解自己，并找出自己的种种'优点'。”*注：* 佛罗里达州那不勒斯的西尔·勒丁顿用开玩笑的口吻写给《跑步者世界》的一封信中表示赞成一位医生的见解，这位医生曾谴责跑步运动，认为跑步会损伤关节（英语中这个词是joints－－译者注）。勒丁顿写道：“我发现跑步使赌窟、酒馆、烟馆之类的下流场所（英语中这个词也是joint－－译者注）受到打击，我不再常去这种地方了。因为工作之余跑步六英里更有乐趣。 另外一些人还报告了跑步的别的好处。作家兼研究员罗伯特·巴尔批驳了认为象跑步这样的竞赛性的运动会鼓励侵略性的论点。他说，相反地，跑步教会我们的是如何控制侵略性。巴尔说：“你下次跑步的时候，当你的肺部火烧火燎，你的脚起泡，你感到寸步难移的时候，你应当这样看：你每跑一英里，你同破坏性的倾向之间的距离就越大。” 大多数在心理上感到同外界不合拍的人总是单枪匹马地瞎折腾，尽自己的力量干。然而他们对自己的问题可能并不比那些定有正式计划的人缺少分析能力。For example: 加利福尼亚州圣克鲁斯的一位教育家本杰明·索耶在他所著的《长跑指南》一书中写道：“我发现我自己不能适应我们的文化，根本不能很好地适应。我无法适应占支《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 配地位的价值标准和思想方法。因此，在观察我自己的现实情况和估价它的真实价值方面，一直存在着一个无可避免的问题。跑步在这方面给了我很大的帮助。当我滑进悲哀的黑暗的时候，跑步有时是我能够看到的唯一的光明。跑步的艺术表现中包含的美和兴奋剂帮助我克服一种大众化的技术文化的缺点，这种文化我是一直无法按照它自己的条件参加进去的。 " 另一个跑步者爱德华·埃泼斯但告诉我，当他在十年前开始跑步的时候，他是一个怕羞和内向的人。他说：“跑步给我带来的好处是：它首先树立了我的信心，接着帮助我对付我遇到的种种不必要的限制。我的自信心已经增加到使我能够为我自己定下过去无法想象的一些目标。 跑步的确能促进心理健康，这似乎是毫无疑问的了。可是，有人知道其所以然吗？未必，尽管有一些理论。一种理论认为，脑子由于跑步而得到异常丰富的氧气供应，于是就以使它的自我纠正的机能发挥作用的方式作出反应。另一种理论认为，身体头脑之间的关系很密切，当你帮助你的身体的时候，你也就必然帮助你的头脑。听你的身体的意见，你就会听到你的头脑的意见了。*注：* 听你的身体的意见，是在你是一个跑步者的时候听得很多的一种说法。且说你的脚受伤了。这一天你该不该跑？如果你听你的身体的意见，它就会给你一个几乎是绝对可靠的回答。你只要轻轻地跑，能够使你的身体暖和就行了。如果你的脚继续疼痛或者感到更加不舒服，你的身体是在告诉你别再跑了。但是，如果疼痛越来越小，继续跑大概是没有什么危险的。 听你的身体的意见，不仅仅是一种观测你的日常情况的技术，也是跑步者的乐趣之一。久坐不动的脑力劳动者，多半感到同自己的身体的关系很淡薄。他们不太知道他们的身体机器的运转情况或者能做到的事，因此，担心和不相信他们的身体。 相反地，跑步者喜爱他们的身体。毕竟是身体使他们能够跑那么多英里，给他们带来了本书谈到的许多愉快的体会。由于跑步者的确喜爱他们的身体，并且常常想他们的身体机器是如何运转的，因此他们比大多数人更加了解身体的情况。有一天，当我正在同尼娜·库西克一起跑步的时候，她问我：“你知道跑步者是多么幸运啊？” 她接着说：“我们所发现的关于我们的身体的一些情况是大多数人、甚至连医生们都从来不知道的。我们同我们自己的接触要多得多。” 也要考虑一下跑步者对谈得很多的，和通常不议论的身体的功能的态度。比方说，我们大多数人都不大想我们喝多少水和什么时候喝。但是，跑步者特别是在长跑或者天气热的时候，必须考虑这个问题。他们知道，如果他们的饮水量大大小于他们所消耗的水分，体力就会大大下降。他们不是纯粹由于口渴而喝水（也不是由于不口渴而不喝水），他们是为了身体的好处而自觉地、有意识地喝水。他们已经懂得他们的身体需要多少水，需要多长时间喝一次水。一度是漫不经心地任意进行的《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 活动上升成了一种技术。 在苦练的压力下，我们通常不谈的一些机能——打嗝、吐口水、放屁——不可避免地会发生。当你和其他跑步者在一起的时候，不会有人注意这些事，跑步者渐渐把身体的生理现象看作自然现象。 例如在一九七二年举行的波士顿马拉松赛跑中，正在为赢得女子组的冠军而奋斗的尼娜·库西克在跑了十三英里的时候突然患了无法控制的腹泻症。在跑道旁的饮水站她设法用杯子里的水冲洗她的腿部，但是她没有完全把腿冲洗干净。当一群一群的观众看到她的时候，她能听到他们的鼓掌声。后来当她走过，他们看到她的情况的时候，欢呼声突然停止了。在马拉松比赛完毕后，她在一次集会上说：“我当时有点不好意思。”我想，我可能应当停止跑步了。但是，我感到我远不像我表面上看起来那么糟。因此，我心里想，只要我能够跑，我还是要坚持跑下去。反正，发生在我身上的事情，有时候也会发生在别人身上。唯一的区别就是，这种事情是在众目睽睽之下发生在我身上的。我已经进行好多的锻炼，我不想停下来，如果我没有必要停下来的话。”所以，她坚持跑下去，终于以九分钟领先，轻易击败了她那最接近的对手。 在一个足球队的衣物储存室里，一度挂着一个标语牌，上面写着：“失败比死亡更糟糕。你必须忍受失败”。这些字眼反映了我们对胜利和失败的态度。现在虽然有一些迹象表明，这种态度已经有所改变（我们似乎不再象过去那样愚蠢地一心想得到胜利），但是我们当中的大多数人仍然认为胜利是好事，失败是坏事；至于在比赛中或竞赛中发生了什么事，重要性要小得多。当然，我们不可能总是取胜。不论我们怎样优秀，我们偶然还会遭到失败，尽管我们的目的是始终要取胜。当遭到失败的时候，我们就会感到不舒服。我们还没有学会如何对待没有取胜的局面。当这种情况发生的时候，我们就会不知如何是好。 跑步改变了我们对失败的态度。当我们跑步的时候，甚至在竞赛中，我们主要是同自己竞赛，而不是同他人竞赛。有一天，我们在加利福尼亚州的《跑步者世界》的办公室里反复议论跑步运动，乔·亨德森说：“既使你是最后一个人到达终点，你也可以成功的。这也许是许多个子小的人都成了跑步者的原因。他们在运动中总是成绩不佳。结果他们发现了跑步运动。这是个子小的人能够取得好成绩的一种运动。 他们第一次在一种运动中获胜。因此，他们的态度是：“即使我没有赢得比赛，我还是赢得某种东西。” 懂得没有在赛跑中取胜的意义，就是懂得没有在我们生活的其他领域里取胜的意义，因为我们通过跑步学到的东西会蔓延到我们所干的一切事情的最遥远的角落，使我们平时遭到的失败变得似乎不是那么有害。也许会有那么一天，在跑步运动中得到的教训会影响运动的其他领域。迈克·斯皮诺预言，体育运动发生明显的变化《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 的日子一定会到来。他写道：“他们将仍旧很认真，但是他们将变得心情愉快。旧的优越感和支配观念将减退。准备好参加一个竞赛项目的个人，将把它看成是他们共同得到某种特殊的体会的日子。训练工作将被看成是一次驶往物质兼精神世界的航行的一种准备仪式。我们会产生某种意识，认为我们的身体虽然是属于我们的，但是也可能是一个巨大的整体的一个部分。我们每参加一种仪式，就会使我们更接近于发挥我们较大的潜力。” 斯皮诺也许低估了在一场艰苦的、损伤筋骨的足球比赛中泥浆溅满全身那样一种乐趣。尽管是这样，他的观点还是反映了从许多跑步者身上看到的一种态度。我不知道两个运动员之间的感情有比在一次二十五英里的使人精疲力尽的马拉松赛跑中两人你追我赶更亲密了。两人都知道，有一个人会先越过终点线，从而被正式列为优胜者。但是每一个人也知道他自己的疲劳和痛苦是同另一个人的疲劳和痛苦分不开的。这种共同的经验把他们拉在一起的力量，远比竞赛把他们分开的力量大得多。 跑步者之所以会变得——借用一下格拉泽用的字眼——对他们的运动产生一种嗜好，原因之一就在这里。我最近曾经同一个朋友交谈。前一个时候，他一直在为参加一次马拉松比赛而进行训练，结果因踝骨受伤而被迫停止参加。他带着苦笑的神情对我说：“我想自杀。如果我的踝骨不会很快复原的话，我想从二十五层楼的窗口跳下去。” 罗杰·班尼斯特虽然最近暂时退出比赛场，还是感到跑步的吸引力，就象我们这些小人物一样。不久以前，他在回答我提出的关于他跑步情况的问题时，以典型的英国式的轻描淡写口吻写道：“虽然在去年发生一次车祸以前，我一直每周跑步五英里，这次车祸造成的踝骨受伤使我完全不能再跑步。..我感到很不舒服。” 如果不提跑步能够怎样促进其他活动，任何关于跑步的心理上的乐趣的叙述都将是不完整的。例如，我的妻子是喜欢旅行的。按照她的思想方法，那一年要是没有外出旅行，这一年就是不完整的。跑步使旅行更加有兴趣，因为要考察一个地方再也没有比这个更好的方式了。在维也纳的多瑙河畔，在佛罗伦萨以北的小山上，在斯特拉特福的阿冯河附近的草场上，在牙买加的山路上，在威尔士的放羊的牧场上，我曾经有过极其愉快的跑步的经历。 * 注：* 如果不承认跑步者有时可能造成或暴露一些问题，关于跑步的心理因素的叙途是不完备的。至少有一个医生发表了这样的观点：跑步过度可能使精神问题更加尖锐。特别是象马拉松比赛前，进行紧张训练的时间中，跑步者的配偶有时会感到被遗忘了。（一个打破奥林匹克运动会记录的运动员乔治·扬的配偶说：“当一个运动员的妻子真不容易。比赛季节似乎是没完没了。”）跑步者一旦跑上了瘾，他们有时把他们的跑步置于一切活动之上，把家庭、朋友和职业统统丢到脑后。拉斐特学《跑步人生》——2 心理的变化 院的一个名叫达尼尔·格利肯豪斯的学生对我说：“我有时想知道每天跑步十到十三英里是不是影响了我的抱负。我曾告诉我的母亲，我在一生中想要实现的愿望就是在加利福尼亚州当一个业余跑步爱好者，得到一个使我有大量的时间跑步的职业，她为我感到担忧。”最后，一个中年的跑步者相当自豪地曾经向我谈到他的妻子对他下过的一次最后通牒，由于对不断改变计划和改变时间表来适应她的丈夫的锻炼计划感到厌烦，她最后对她的丈夫说：“你必须在你的跑步嗜好和你的结婚生活之间作出抉择。”她的丈夫一边穿上他的跑步鞋一边回答说：“作出这种抉择是非常容易的事。” 跑步的较深的乐趣很难一下子体会到，只是偶然跑一跑的人更不用说了。你要想感受到跑步给你带来的深刻变化，至少需要每周跑四天，每天跑四十五分钟到一个小时。需要跑那么多的时间，跑步的显著的催眠性的节奏，才能把我们引进一些跑步者所说的一种有催眠作用的境界，在那样一种平稳的精神状态中，他们奇迹般地感到纯化，并且感到同自己的内心世界和周围世界的关系都是和谐的。 然而，象我这样坚决主张跑步的人，却不得不承认有少数人似乎根本不具备跑步者的条件。这同一个人的身体结构毫无关系，有些大骨头的人虽然完全不适于跑步，却跑得很成功。我认为这的确反映了一种气质，这种气质使人难于容忍跑步迫使人进行的沉思——跑步的一部分内容。（要知道你自己的跑步商数，请看下面那张测验表）* 莫博士——我曾经在本书第一章援引过他的关于医生的言论——常常鼓励他的病人跑步。但是，连他这样一个献身于跑步运动的人，也没有取得什么成就。他对我说：“我曾经试验过我所能想到的每一种办法，但是我的记录仍然是很差的。” 注： * 你是否适于跑步 身材、年龄和能力各不相同的人都可以成为跑步者。然而他们当中的大多数人（特别是那些年复一年坚持跑步、享受跑步在生理上和心理上带来的种种好处的人） 都具有一定的特点。如果你不是一个跑步者，这张简单明了的测验表会使你知道你是不是长期跑步的材料： 跑步测验表 whether （一）你是不是超重十磅或十磅以上？ __ __ （二）你抽烟吗？ __ __ （三）你希望永远减轻体重，永远停止抽烟或两者都做到？ __ __ （四）你是否担心你有一天会得心脏病？ （五）你是否希望减少得心脏病的风险？ __ __ （六）你是否感到身体不如以前了？ __ __ "Running Life" - 2 Psychological Changes （七）你是否希望恢复过去的样子？ __ __ （八）你是否希望你在进行目前数量的锻炼的情况下感到更舒服？ __ __ （九）你希望睡得更香吗？ __ __ （十）你是否希望能够在减少睡眠的情况下生活得很好？ __ __ （十一）你是否希望感到更轻松？ __ __ （十二）你是否更愿意单独一个人或者同一个密友度过一个夜晚，而不愿意参加一个大集会？ __ __ （十三）在大集会中你是否感到自己象一个外人？ __ __ （十四）当你是单独一个人的时候，你通常感到高兴吗？ __ __ （十五）你是否足够自信，使你在自己似乎跟其他人有所不同的时候，毫不介意？ __ __ 你的回答如果有十二个或十二个以上“是”字，跑步对你来说是适宜的；如果你的回答有八个到十一个“是”字，你大概能够享受跑步的乐趣；如果你的回答有五个到八个“是”字，那就不保险，但是值得试一试；如果只有四个“是”字，或者更少，那么成功的机会就很少了。 有一个三十五六岁的超重的邻居，曾经要求我帮助他开始实行一项跑步计划。 在一个周未的下午，我们拖着脚步慢慢跑了四分之一英里。由于他始终只是稍微有点喘气，我希望他开的这个头是够愉快的，使他能够坚持下去。但事实证明情况不是这样。他第二天对我说：“我再也不跑了！我的身体太僵硬了，简直很难移动。此外，跑步是惹人讨厌的。” 如果你试着跑步以后发现跑步比跑去找牙科医生还要糟，你也许是生来不适于跑步的人。但是，你至少应当知道，有许多跑步者在跑了几个星期甚至跑了几个月之后，才开始体会到这种运动的乐趣。因此得好好试他一试；如果你不这样做，你到头来就会错过一种不寻常的经历。 我要重复说一句：究竟跑步的感受为什么那么深奥，人们还不完全知道。人们对跑步的生理学已经了解得相当清楚，可是到现在为止，人们对跑步的心理学方面只有模糊的零星认识。在今后的岁月里，随着各别的跑步者注意到他们的头脑的反应，我们将毫无疑问地从他们那里听到许多新情况，主要由于这个原因，跑步尽管是一种古老的运动，仍然是这样一种奇妙的活动。对我们大家来说，跑步运动有新的领域有待我们开拓。