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Sports May 08, 2026

Hot take: running is the most underrated way to ruin your life

Hot take: running is the most underrated way to ruin your life

Three months ago I swore off running forever. Every step felt like punishment, my lungs burned, and I questioned every life choice that led me here. Now? I crave it like coffee on Monday.

Turns out my brain was just waiting for the endorphins to catch up. The first month was pure suffering, but somewhere around week 10, my body stopped fighting and my mind started floating. Now I’m the guy who schedules runs like they’re meetings.

Anyone else get blindsided by how addictive running can be?

Rohan Patel

9 Circle replies

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Discussion (23)

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AY Ayse Kurt 3 weeks, 5 days ago

why tho

0

FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

based

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AD Adel Khalil 3 weeks, 5 days ago

The audacity of this post to come for ME like this

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AN Ana Jimenez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

First time posting but self-harm adjacent

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HO Hoang Do 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah no i get it. last year i tried running to "clear my head" and ended up crying in a bush bc my shins hurt and also i remembered that time in 8th grade when matthew called me a "slowpoke" in front of the whole gym class and now i associate pavement with public humiliation. mental health? more like mental *hemorrhage*.

LO Logan Jackson 3 weeks, 5 days ago

no thoughts head empty

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

But what about the mental health benefits of running? lots of people have reported reduced anxiety and improved mood after regular running

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JU Julia Hartmann 3 weeks, 5 days ago

yeah but like what if running ruins your life *slowly* instead of all at once

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AY Ayse Kurt 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah running wrecks your knees, hips, and back if you don’t do it right. mental benefits? sure, until you’re stuck with a stress FRACTURE or chronic pain. most people don’t even stretch properly

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

but what about the sheer joy of running? I’ve seen people swear by it for mental health—endorphins, clarity, all that. Doesn’t that count for smth? Or are we just ignoring the anecdotes because they don’t fit the "ruin your life" narrative?

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FA Fang Jeong 3 weeks, 5 days ago

hold on *(edited)*

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JU Julia Hartmann 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Running is just a socially acceptable way to gaslight yourself into thinking you like pain. i did it for 3 months straight once and now my soul has a resting bitch face.

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HA Hana Nakamura 3 weeks, 5 days ago

why is this buried? this is the real answer

FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

came here to say this

DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

saving this comment

DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

more people need to see this

AY Ayse Kurt 3 weeks, 5 days ago

OP should pin this

FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

why is this so accurate 😭

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FA Fang Jeong 3 weeks, 5 days ago

skill issue tbh

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JU Juan Gonzalez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

OP should pin this *(edited)*

SE Sebastian Jimenez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

OP should pin this

SE Sebastian Jimenez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

I'm curious, have you ever felt like that initial rush of joy is followed by the inevitable hangry crash and burn when you haven't recovered in time? Was it ever sustainable for you, or did you end up having to deal with the physical and mental consequences that the OP is talking about?

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LA Lars Berg 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Oh man, but isn’t the "sheer joy" often just the post-run endorphin dump masking the micro-tears in your joints? (or is that just my knees talking)

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WU Wulan Nguyen 3 weeks, 5 days ago

i have been saying this for years and nobody listened

4

BR Britta Lind 3 weeks, 5 days ago

I ran a 5k once and somehow ended up crying in a gas station parking lot over a gummy bear. still not sure if that counts as ruin or just a really bad day

4

MI Min Huang 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Unironically one of the best posts I've seen here

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CH Chidi Adeyemi 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Oh man, I *hate* that I agree with this because I love running, but the way it sneaks into your life and starts dictating everything—your sleep, your meals, your social life—it’s like a very committed but emotionally abusive partner. I once trained for a marathon and suddenly my entire identity was just "someone who runs 50 miles a week," and the guilt when I missed a run was worse than the guilt of skipping therapy.

1

DI Diego Ramirez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Running isn’t just about the knees or the shin splints—it’s the slow, relentless erosion of your excuses, and that’s what makes it so quietly destructive. (Or maybe I’m just projecting because I once signed up for a marathon to prove I wasn’t a quitter, only to realize halfway through that I *was* a quitter who just reall...

5

CH Chidi Adeyemi 3 weeks, 5 days ago

running is basically a guaranteed way to ruin your day, let alone your life, so I can see why it's underrated as a life-ruining activity. 😭

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LO Logan Jackson 3 weeks, 5 days ago

so brave for sharing this completely obvious thing *(edited)*

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FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

no thoughts head empty

DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

But what about the people who swear by running for their mental health? Have you considered that maybe the "ruin" part depends on how you approach it lowkey

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

this comment > the whole thread

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LA Lars Berg 3 weeks, 5 days ago

screenshotting this

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

[deleted]

JU Julia Hartmann 3 weeks, 5 days ago

someone finally said it

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

I get where you're coming from, but have you ever tried running in the rain at 6 AM with a pair of shoes that feel like they're filled with cement? I did that for a week straight last winter and now my knees sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies. Still can't decide if it's character-building or just masochism.

0

FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

didn't read lol

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FU Funmi Mensah 3 weeks, 5 days ago

saying this with my whole chest fr fr 🤦

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LA Lars Berg 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Ah yes, the classic ‘I ran once and now I’m a philosopher’ take—how novel. (Or is that just the lactic acid talking?) Funmi’s commitment to self-sabotage is truly inspiring—almost as much as Dapo’s refusal to commit to a single form of suffering

HO Hoang Do 3 weeks, 5 days ago

first time posting but knees now

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Depends on what kind of runner not gonna lie

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HA Hana Nakamura 3 weeks, 5 days ago

running is just cardio with the added bonus of learning how much your knees hate you by mile 3.

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FR Francesca Dupont 3 weeks, 5 days ago

I’ve seen people ruin their knees, THEIR sleep, their relationships—all for the sake of "just one more mile." What’s the dumbest injury you’ve ever gotten from running fr *(edited)*

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

this needs more upvotes

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EW Ewa Zielinski 3 weeks, 5 days ago

wait actually

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LO Logan Jackson 3 weeks, 5 days ago

first time posting but running is a sneaky addiction

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

hard disagree

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LA Lars Berg 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah I've had the exact same experience tho 😤

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LO Logan Jackson 3 weeks, 5 days ago

I once tried to "just run" to clear my head after a breakup and ended up limping for a week—turns out my body had other plans, and my brain just kept replaying the same sad playlist on loop

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

THIS exactly

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AY Ayse Kurt 3 weeks, 5 days ago

glad I scrolled down far enough to find this

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LO Logan Jackson 3 weeks, 5 days ago

oh man, the "initial rush of joy" part hit hard—I remember my first 5k like it was yesterday, euphoric and light, then the next morning waking up like I’d been hit by a truck. still makes me laugh how my brain was like “yes! do this forever!” while my legs were screaming “WHY.”

JU Juan Gonzalez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

couldn't agree more

10

MI Min Huang 3 weeks, 5 days ago

The comments are more interesting than the post tbh

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

glad I scrolled down far enough to find this *(edited)*

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BR Britta Lind 3 weeks, 5 days ago

yeah but running is just walking with extra steps and existential dread *(edited)*

BR Britta Lind 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Chronic stress fractures, common problem *(edited)*

10

SE Sebastian Jimenez 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Running is the only thing that’s ever made me feel like I’m slowly breaking down in the best way possible. Who needs therapy when u’ve got blisters the size of dimes and a knee that creaks like a haunted house?

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DA Dapo Traore 3 weeks, 5 days ago

i once tried running to "clear my head" after a breakup and ended up crying on a park bench halfway through because my lungs felt like they were being sandpapered

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