© 1998. 42K(+) Press, Inc. "Too Much of a Good Thing? " originally appeared in the July/August 1998 issue of Marathon & Beyond, and is reprinted here with permission of 42K(+) Press, Inc.. For information about reprinting or excerpting this article or any other M&B article, contact Jan Seeley via email or by calling (217) 359-9345. Marathon & Beyond is the only bimonthly magazine for marathoners and ultrarunners.

    ANYTHING IN excess is unhealthy. Ingesting too many vitamins can turn something essential to life into a poison. Spending too many hours at work can be counterproductive and destructive. For a long-distance runner, training too many miles mixed with too little rest can rob the legs of vitality. And an addiction to running, and to marathoning especially, can turn a very positive pursuit into a major negative in your life.

Fortunately, marathon addiction does not appear to be as prevalent in the Second Running Boom as it was during the First Running Boom (1976-84). But running addiction is still a very real phenomenon that deserves our attention.

For several years, the psychological profession has been on an addicti on binge, claiming an eruption of addictions to just about everything. In some cases, the "addiction" label is flagrantly used for what amounts to a lack of self-control. The former label gets the subject off the hook because an addiction infers a victim while a simple lack of self-control infers a shortcoming in discipline.

Of course, we do know that some people do possess addictive personalities. For instance, I've seen people who have traded an addiction to alcohol and drugs for an addiction to running. Substituting a positive for a negative is certainly to be lauded-that is, until the addictive person turns runn ing into a negative by going way overboard, and it begins to take over his or her life the way the alcohol or drugs did.

To better understand addiction, let's back up a few steps and examine motivation. Why would someone take up running in the first place? And why stay with an activity that seems so, . . . well, . . . monotonous to an outsider?

WHY RUNNING?

Most runners originally come to the sport and lifestyle for reasons of health and fitness. This commitment starts off with as little as 2 to 3 miles at a time, three or four times a week. However, many that become runners for reasons of health and fitness eventually add a few miles to their weekly training. And then a few more. Then they take on the challenge of racing at 5K and 10K distances, then move to 10-milers and half-marathons, and, ultimately, succumb to the romance of what many see as the ultimate running challenge-the marathon.

In a world bereft of physical challenges, in a world where many people spend eight hours a day facing a computer screen in a claustrophobic cubicle, the prospect of throwing yourself into an arena where, legend has it, a well-trained Greek foot messenger died at the conclusion of a run from Marat hon to Athens, becomes very enticing indeed.

Although hundreds of thousands of people have run marathons, it is still far from an "easy" event. Twenty-six miles, 385 yards is quite a distance, even for a car ride. Traveling at 55 mph, it takes half an hour to cover the distance. The fastest marathoners in the world take more than two hours- the length of the average feature film-to complete the distance. A three-hour marathon for the amateur runner is considered an excellent performance.

Clearly there are reasons other than fitness and health for running marathons. Basic fitness, after all, is available at 26 miles per week, not 26 miles in one session. There are as many reasons and combinations of reasons for running marathons as there are runners running them. Some runners are attracted to the social aspects of training and racing long distances with others. Others are fascinated by the aesthetic aspects of running as well as the primal beauty and strength of moving through the environment under their own power. Some experience a catharsis as they release their frustra tions and the tensions of the day. Still others pursue running for ascetic reasons, enjoying the solitary nature of training and the challenge of running the marathon and longer distances, searching in the intense physical and psychological training for a path to self-actualization.

THE MARATHON'S GRIP

For some runners, the sport becomes a tremendously important part of their lives, taking hold with a powerful grip and providing wonderful physical and psychological benefits. For a few runners, this grip may move, sometimes very subtly, from a healthy activity to an addiction. Sachs and Pargman (1984) defined addiction to running as "psychological and/or physiological addiction to a regular regimen of running, characterized by withdrawal symptoms after twenty-four to thirty-six hours without the activity" (p. 233).

Running addiction has both physical and psychological elements; that is, it affects both mind and body. Someone suffering from running addiction will manifest physical symptoms of withdrawal, such as muscle twitching, bloatedness, sluggishness, lethargy, sleeplessness, headaches, and stomachaches , but the symptoms are primarily psychological in nature.

The psychological withdrawal symptoms include tension, depression, anxiety, guilt, restlessness, and irritability (Glasser, 1976; Sachs & Pargman, 1979). Guilt, especially, is the symptom that is seen most often, accompanied by a sense of irritability/grouchiness/crabbiness'whatever term you car e to use. Beware runners deprived of their run: they are difficult to be around.

Occasional rest days are important, and even advisable, so withdrawal symptoms would be unexpected on a day when a runner had planned to rest (or perhaps planned an alternative physical activity--hiking or cycling or swimming or some housework, for example). But on those days when the runner had p lanned to run, and something comes up that prevents that from happening'a family emergency, a big project, a deadline at work, a school paper that is taking longer than expected, an injury, or illness--that is when the guilt and the irritability and the other withdrawal symptoms come into play.

You can see yourself in the paragraph above? You never let anything get in the way of your run? If so, keep reading.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

First, let's consider how long it takes to develop an addiction to running. William Glasser (1976) suggests that it takes up to two years, while some reports suggest that only a few months may be necessary (Sachs, 1981). Some people develop an addiction over a long period of time. Some report that it took 20 years for their addiction to running to develop (Sachs, 1981). The development of addiction in a runner--if it does, indeed, occur--is clearly an individual event.

The title of this article asks whether running can become too much of a good thing. This concept goes back to William Glasser's fascinating 1976 book, Positive Addiction, in which he suggests that there are some things in life that, even if one becomes addicted to them, are good for you: they str engthen us physically and psychologically. These good addictions include meditation and aerobic exercise. But is this really the case, or can you actually get too much of a good thing?

Stanton Peele (1981) would answer, "Yes," that you can become negatively addicted to something that is supposedly good for you. To Peele, the key word or concept is control. If the substance or activity is one over which you have control-you decide whether to do it or not-then you are not addicte d. This concept applies to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, chocolate, watching soap operas, shopping, surfing the Internet, or running. On the other hand (or foot), if the substance or activity seems to be controlling you'you need that drink, have to have that piece of chocolate, must run that 10-mil e workout-then you are addicted.

The distinctions are sometimes fine ones to make, and they vary from individual to individual. Each of us makes our own choices about what we do in life, and we set our own priorities about what is important to us and what is not. William Morgan (1979a, b) offers vignettes about runners who have run through injuries that eventually wound up disabling them, or who have even committed suicide because they could not recapture the performances of yesteryear. This is what he rightly terms "negative addiction."

The defining criterion for the presence of addiction is, therefore, the presence or absence of control. Are you (or your fellow runners) able to say, "I had planned to go for a run today, but this emergency [fill in whatever emergency you like] came up, and I'll have to postpone my run until tomorrow"?

The runner who considers his or her running an important part of life but who realizes that it is a considered activity with respect to other aspects of life can answer, "Yes." That firm "Yes" doesn't mean that some guilt and irritability won't be present if you miss a run. Such guilt and irritab ility is a natural reaction to not being able to do something that you like to do, that has become a habit and, especially, that is good for you.

The addicted runner, however, will answer, "No!" Nothing-and I mean nothing!-gets in the way of the daily run, and these runners often run seven days per week, sometimes with double workouts'a long run in the morning and intervals in the afternoon. Running for them has become the controlling fact or in their existence. Everything else becomes secondary.

SIGNS OF ADDICTION

How can you tell whether you or other runners are addicted? The "Addiction Self-Test" at the end of this article can help give you a feeling for whether you or other runners are addicted. There are other tests for addiction that are available in the literature (Sachs & Pargman, 1984), but this self-test is helpful for a quick, self-scoring approach. It is not a definitive test or a diagnostic tool, but if you or other runners you know have any concerns, the best strategy is to see an exercise or sport psychologist. If you don't know of one in your area, please write to me in care of Marathon & Beyond and I'll help you find one.

The withdrawal symptoms mentioned earlier provide a feeling for what addicted runners experience when they can't run. The reasons for not being able to run include injury or illness (primarily) and various life events, such as social functions, family emergencies, school or work projects, and so on.

Some injured runners can participate in alternative activities that avoid further damage to the injured area. Some runners, however, indicate that nothing can take the place of running, and even alternative activities are not satisfactory. In cases of illness (e.g., flu), rest is probably the mos t sensible strategy.

The various life events factor means that time is too limited to do everything, and events other than running take precedence today. Peele (1981) would call such a view of running a "healthy habit" and not an addiction that controls the person. The "healthy habit" perspective sees running (and anything else) as an important, but considered, aspect of your existence, weighed and valued along with everything else we do in our busy lives.

This can be viewed as keeping everything in balance. Addicted individuals, however, are controlled by the substance/activity'in this case running'and place running first and foremost in their lives.

What can we look for in ourselves or others that might denote the presence of addiction? The signs of an addicted runner can include fatigue, decreased ability to concentrate, an overemphasis on quantity (number of miles, number of repeats on the track), skipping appointments (including family functions), and running despite injuries that cry out for rest or treatment.

If you detect these characteristics in yourself or another runner, watch for these other "red flags" that could indicate the potential presence of an addict-ion to running. Nonrunners notice that runners shift circles of friends from nonrunners to runners and spend significantly more social time at track club meetings, at the local track for workouts, and at races, locally, regionally, and nationally (and even internationally'there are companies that specialize in booking trips to overseas marathons).

Addicted individuals will also be even more "committed" (Sachs & Pargman, 1984). They may spend more time engaged in running club activities, as a volunteer and perhaps as an officer, sign on as race director for a local race, subscribe to more running publications than anyone else, watch running movies (everything from Chariots of Fire and Prefontaine to The Games), and buy more running shoes, clothes, and other paraphernalia.

Addicted runners might search for more and more marathons to run, in more exotic locales, spending more time and more money on training and trips. The same would apply to ultrarunners in search of ever-greater challenges and distances, such as the Comrades Marathon in South Africa or the Western States 100.

An additional red flag is a runner who manages to steer every conversation back to running, as though no other subject in the wide world is as worthy of discussion. It is important to note that the presence of some or all of these factors, by themselves, don't mean you or someone else is addicted . Spending more time as a volunteer at races or buying more running clothes may simply mean a greater involvement in the running subculture as part of an overall commitment to a healthier lifestyle. The key factor, as noted, is control. Who is in control? Is the runner in control of his or her ru nning, or is running in control of the runner?

Most of us would readily agree that a singular focus on running, where running is the controlling factor in one's existence, is not "good." I would like to avoid being judgmental, but I'm afraid I won't be successful. There are runners who acknowledge being addicted to running, yet they see that addiction as a positive factor in their lives. They have changed jobs, changed relationships-gotten divorced, developed a new circle of friends, perhaps even married a runner-all for the physical and psychological benefits (which, admittedly, can be many) they derive from running.

If this really works for them, then perhaps an addiction to running is indeed a positive factor in their lives. However, for most individuals, the state of affairs I just described comes on gradually, creeps up with a steady emphasis on taking running just a little further (as opposed to merely " farther"), a little bit faster, doing just a bit more, squeezing in just one more race this month, and so on.

Peele talks about addiction as a relationship between the individual and the substance or activity. Addiction to running is exactly that: a relationship that the runner and running form that becomes enmeshed and intertwined until the runner and running become one. I will be judgmental, though, an d say that we are not one with running: we are unique individuals who happen to be runners. Running can and should be a vital part of our existence, but we do have families, friends, work and school commitments, and other roles that are vital as well.

We are often very eager to point the finger of guilt at people who can't seem to control their addiction to cigarettes or bingo or watching soap operas, but we are so sensitive at having a finger pointed at our running excesses.

THE KEY WORD IS "BALANCE"

The key term I noted earlier in defining addiction is control. The key word I will emphasize now is balance. Keeping running as a vital part of our existence is important, but keeping it in balance with everything else we do in life is even more important.

Let me step down from my soapbox and return to the runner who has gradually moved across that fine line from healthy habit to addiction. What can that runner do?

1. Realize there is a potential problem.
2. Make a decision to proceed with behavior changes.
3. Substitute other rewarding activities.
4. Evaluate behavior changes.

The first step is realizing the potential problem. If the runner doesn't acknowledge the existence of a problem, then nothing can really be done unless you have the power to force that person to stop running cold turkey, which is highly unlikely.

However, if the runner acknowledges that perhaps so mething untoward is going on, that running does seem to be controlling him or her, then you can intervene. Often just providing information, such as observations of the runner's behavior, may be enough to make the runner sit back for a moment and think.

Articles and books such as this one and others listed in the reference list may be helpful. Approach the runner in a supportive, caring manner and emphasize that you are interested in his or her health and performance. Approaching someone in a confrontational manner ("John, you've got a problem! What are you going to do about it?") doesn't usually work well. It merely causes the addicted runner to become defensive.

The second step is making a decision to proceed with behavior changes. The runner must decide that there is indeed a problem, and that the runner wants to make a change, to return to the previous area of the continuum where running is important but not controlling. This decision doesn't make the behavior change process easy, but it is necessary before a program designed to change the person's behavior is likely to be successful.

As already cited, Peele (1981) talks about "healthy habits," those habits that are healthy or good for you, which running certainly can be. At some point on a continuum from Healthy Habit to Addiction, the individual loses control (See Figure 1). Where this point is depends on the individual and is not quantifiable per se, but we can usually sense when we are in control and when we are losing control. This is the critical point upon which we must focus.

The behavior change process must bring the runner back along the continuum and away from the Addiction side, where he or she is now living and running, and toward the Healthy Habit side. Awareness of points along the continuum (mileage, commitment indices, etc.) that would indicate a shift toward the Addiction end will help a runner be more aware if he or she starts moving toward addiction again in the future.

BEYOND THE THRESHOLD

What happens to the runner who can't make it back to the Healthy Habit side of the continuum? This runner does not respect the body and ignores its pleadings for rest. This runner will not cross-train to revitalize the broken-down body. Eventually, nature takes its course: the body registers its own kind of protest by breaking down with either an acute injury or by falling back on a chronic injury.

Morgan's (1979a, b) vignettes highlight a variety of chilling case histories, including one runner who eventually tore his Achilles tendon completely because he would not take the time needed to cut back or change activities and allow the Achilles injury to heal.

Addicted runners do not tend to be the elite runners. The elite have learned over time that rest is critical to success, and they know when to push the envelope and when to back off and rest.

The addicted runner tends to be the middle-of-the-pack type who may be attempting to push to a higher leve l, but who doesn't have the genes or the time, energy, coaching, or money to make it to the next level. The drive is there, but the clear head is not; the addiction dictates overtraining, and overtraining dictates overuse injuries.

Ironically, many athletes, included addicted runners, stumble upon the realization that performances may improve after a short rest period brought on by injury. It certainly makes sense. The overworked body breaks down, is forced to take a rest, and it comes back fresher and stronger than it was before the injury. There are numerous examples of this. Both of Derek Clayton's marathon world records in the 1960s came after forced layoffs for surgical corrections of running injuries. Joan Benoit's 1984 Los Angeles Olympic marathon win came after a layoff due to injury. Unfortunately, neither the world-class runner nor the addicted runner subsequently applies the Work + Rest = Performance formula to their running.

The third step, and perhaps the most challenging, is substituting other rewarding activities. For many runners, there is nothing more rewarding than running and engaging in all the other aspects of being a runner (i.e., running club activities, talking about running, etc.). An exercise/sport psyc hologist can work with such a runner to develop programs that will allow substitution of other activities for running. These activities may be physical activities or may be other activities that will absorb some of the addicted runner's energies. In many cases, it may be necessary only to scale b ack the level of participation in running, not to stop running completely.

One could back down from 85 miles per week, for example. The Monday through Friday 10-milers in the morning, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon track interval workouts (9 miles total), a 10K on Saturday, and a long run (20 miles) on Sunday could be modified to a 65-mile week by knocking out the Monda y and Thursday morning runs.

SCALE BACK TO COMFORT AND LOGIC

Whatever the program, the idea is to scale back until the runner reaches a comfortable point, then substitute other, rewarding activities. Some other physical activities include going for a long, slow walk with a family member or friend, playing with children (you'll get quite a workout there), participating in a bowling league with coworkers, and so on. The focus would still be on physical activities that are enjoyable but would break the running monopoly.

In other cases, nonphysical activity options may be preferable or desirable, such as doing a day trip to the local amusement park with the family, going to a movie with a friend, or taking in a show at the museum. These activities all substitute for the time that would have been spent running. Th is program, monitored by the exercise/sport psychologist, can be successful in bringing the runner back to a point where he or she is in control of the running, and not the other way around.

The final step is evaluating the behavior change. Evaluate whether the runner has reestablished control over running and has restored balance to his or her life, integrating running with all the other things we do.

At this point, maintenance becomes the key: being continually aware of a tendency t o slip back into old patterns of mileage and commitment that leads to loss of control in the first place. This is the time to learn to enjoy running for what it is: a joyful activity that provides us with great physical and psychological health.

HOW YOU CAN HELP THE ADDICTED RUNNER

As the spouse or significant other or friend of an addicted runner, you may be asking where you fit into this process. You can be helpful at all stages!

• First, you can be the person who approaches the runner in a supportive, caring manner. You can provide articles and books on the subject.
• Second, you can encourage the runner to make the decision to proceed with behavior change by being supportive. You can also help by assisting in monitoring those signs that indicate a backward-slide toward the Addiction side of the Healthy Habit/Addiction continuum.
• Third, you can be a key player in suggesting and/or participating in other rewarding activities. Doing other things you both enjoy is critical for success.
• Finally, you can help in the evaluation process by being supportive and encouraging and pointing out all the positive benefits that have come from the shift to a Healthy Habit orientation and away from Addiction. This support, combined with the runner's own feelings, can mean the difference between success and a return to addiction.
• There is tremendous reward in running, whether we do so competitively or recreationally. The key is to enjoy doing it and not to reach the point where running becomes too much of a good thing. Enjoy the process, then enjoy the experience. Carpe diem et carpe viam!

REFERENCES
Benyo, R. (1996, Winter). Exercise addiction. FootNotes, 24(4), 18.
Glasser, W. (1976). Positive addiction. New York: Harper and Row.
Morgan, W. P. (1979a). Negative addiction in runners. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 7(2), 56-63, 67-70.
Morgan, W. P. (1979b). Running into addiction. The Runner, 1(6), 72-74, 76.
Peele, S. (1981). How much is too much: Healthy habits or destructive addictions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Sachs, M. L. (1981). Running addiction. In M. H. Sacks & M. L. Sachs (Eds.), Psychology of running (pp. 116-126). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.
Sachs, M. L., & Pargman, D. (1979). Running addiction: A depth interview examination. Journal of Sport Behavior, 2, 143-155.
Sachs, M. L., & Pargman, D. (1984). Running addiction. In M. L. Sachs & G. W. Buffone (Eds.), Running as therapy: An integrated approach (pp. 231-252). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press (reprinted in 1997 by Jason Aronson Inc., Publishers, Northvale, NJ, as part of Master Works Series).

OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST Anshel, M. H. (1991). A psycho-behavioral analysis of addicted versus non-addicted male and female exercisers. Journal of Sport Behavior, 14, 145-154.
Benyo, R. (1990). The exercise fix. Champaign: Leisure Press
. Bull, S. J. (1989). The role of the sport psychology consultant: A case study of ultra-distance running. The Sport Psychologist, 3, 254-264.
Chapman, C. L., & DeCastro, J. M. (1990). Running addiction: Measurement and associated psychological characteristics. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 30, 283-290.
Coen, S. P., & Ogles, B. M. (1993). Psychological characteristics of the obligatory runner: A critical examination of the anorexia analogue hypothesis. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 15, 338-354.
Hays, K. F. (1996). When bad things happen to good sports: Negative addiction, staleness, and burnout. Psychotherapy bulletin, 31(2), 30-36.
Lynch. J. (1987). The total runner: A complete mind-body guide to optimal performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Morgan, W. P. (Ed.) (1997). Physical activity and mental health. Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis.
Pierce, E. F., McGowan, R. W., & Lynn, T. D. (1993). Exercise dependence in relation to competitive orientation of runners. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 33, 189-193.

AN ADDICTION SELF-TEST Marathon & Beyond editor Rich Benyo developed an addiction self-test that can provide a quick way to size up where running stands in your life. This self-test first appeared in his 1990 book, The Exercise Fix, and was adapted for an article on exercise addiction in the Winter 1996 issue of FootNotes. Directions: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest, weight each of the following statements as they apply to you and your running. Then total your numbers and check the interpretations at the end of the test. Fill out the test in pencil, or make photocopies, so you can retake it perio dically. ____Running is extremely important to me. I'm positive I'll be running for the rest of my life. ____A day without a run is a day without sunshine. ____If it becomes downright impossible to get my workout in today, I can always double up tomorrow. ____Until I get my workout in, I'm a real bear'as in unbearable. ____A little pain indicates there's serious progress being made. ____If two aspirin/ibuprofen are good, four are twice as good. ____Warm-up and cool-down are important, but it's what comes in the middle of the workout that counts. ____As far as running goes, more is always better. ____A string of running days must remain unbroken. ____Quality without quantity is impossible. ____Of course I know how many miles I ran last month. . . . ____Unless you've run a marathon, you're not a real runner. ____The more marathons you've run, the more serious a runner you are. ____Rest is for the weary, not for the strong. ____Discomfort exists to run through, not to be an insurmountable barrier. ____All my friends are runners, and I wouldn't consider befriending a nonrunner. ____Many running-related pains can be gotten rid of by running through them. ____If a shirt doesn't boast a race logo, it isn't one I want to wear. ____It exhibits their inbred weakness if people don't want to hear my step-by-step re-creations of races I've run. ____If I have a piddling injury and a sports medicine expert says I shouldn't run, it's obviously time for a second (or third) opinion. Score Where does your total fall? 161-200: Running addiction personified. Get help immediately. 121-160: Leaning towards running addiction; beware. 81-120: Neutral. 41-80: Fitness with a mellow bent. 20-40: Approaching terminal mellow; better sign up for a race.

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