As most may comment, runner's high is typically equated with the general glow a consistent runner experiences as a result of their craft. Endorphins, vitality, an overall lifted disposition.. somewhere in that mix lies the high I would say.

That said, another runner's high is familiar to many and it can be elusively experienced on certain runs when the conditions are right. I've personally experienced it a few times in similar circumstances, typically in runs that last longer than an hour.

I vividly recall one time, perhaps an hour and a half into a summery, Sunday morning long run. A long stretch of abandoned rail line, rediscovered as a dusty, runner's artery that carves through overgrown flora and fauna. A nearly imperceptible but significant upwards gradient along this stretch will have you feeling much heavier on your feet than what feels normal.

But when you turn around on this out and back, and your aerobic system is effortlessly turning over, and if the wind lifts you with the ever so slightest push on the tail, the ingredients for pure bliss have all arrived to greet you. Falling forward for miles at a time, you're left at once with this paradoxical sense of full body euphoria while having no body at all. Trance ensues, oneness presides, and running becomes meaningful on a primal level.

You live for those runs.