Athletes are chasing the runner’s high…literally. 

Cannabis has made its way into running culture, and athletes are choosing THC-infused gummies, tinctures and drinks pre-workout. The goal: to get within the zone and recuperate post-run.

While the conversation around cannabis and running has been relatively quiet, a 2021 book by journalist Josiah Hesse titled “Runner’s High” brought light to the movement. It explores the cannabis-centric running subculture and argues against the stereotype that marijuana users are lazy.

Now, more athletes are starting to speak publicly about their experience using THC. Kate Glavan, who recently participated within the Recent York City marathon, is certainly one of them.

“I first noticed like, ‘Wow, my brain is finally shutting off,’” she says of the primary time she used weed before a run.

Now, it’s change into a consistent a part of her running routine.

“I just about used it [for] 99 percent of my runs up until the marathon and I did use weed on race day,” she says.

Glavan isn’t alone — weed-positive run clubs have even emerged, akin to Recent York-based Rage and Release.

“Understanding that cannabis has all the time been a community tool is [a] reason why I adore it a lot,” says Rage and Release founder Thai Richards. “You concentrate on highschool, you concentrate on college, and when you concentrate on stoners, you concentrate on a bunch of individuals. You never take into consideration, ‘Oh that one stoner is all the time by himself.’ No, there’s all the time a bunch of folks that smoke together.”

Richards attributes Rage and Release’s success to that community element.

For Richards, cannabis and movement just make sense.

“The primary time I ever smoked, we smoked and rode bikes on the lake and climbed trees,” he says. “Cannabis was all the time an lively thing.”

The athletes who show up for Rage and Release’s weekly group runs feel the identical way, he says.

“We get folks that fly in from different parts of the world,” Richards says. “It’s a wonderful thing to give you the chance to see.”

Although THC offerings are quite a few, there are just a few brands that specifically give attention to the athletic experience. Offfield, a favourite of Glavan’s, sells a High Performance Sports Drink ($55 for eight cans), that’s infused with 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC, 10 milligrams of CBD and 10 milligrams of CBG. 

“The general experience is getting out of your head and into your run and truly finding that enjoyment within the occasion,” says Offfield cofounder and chief executive officer Tony Fur. “We’re really attempting to define our formula for that occasion.”

The product, which took two years to formulate, was tested by 300 athletes through the brand’s incubator program, Offfield Labs.

Fur suggests that zoning out during a workout will be useful. “What you’re doing is allowing your brain to ascertain out,” he says. “Your energy balance is switching. Your brain is taking less energy, which implies less calories. It’s applying it to your body that needs it most, so that you’re going to be performing higher for longer that way.”

Moreover, brands that supply microdosable formulas, like Rose Los Angeles, provide an option for runners seeking to customize their highs across the length of their runs.

“I definitely did a whole lot of experimentation of what physically felt good,” Glavan says, adding that on race day, she drank an Offfield before and cut up Rose Los Angeles edibles into 2.5 milligram pieces to take as needed. “You don’t wish to have it where you are feeling like you’ll be able to’t feel your body.”

While the continued marijuana legalization has led to a more open conversation, there remains to be a big stigma around using the drug. 

“I actually have a social media following and a platform and [there are] mass incarceration and racial disparities that provide you with weed, like, if I can use it as a white woman that’s living in Recent York City, I sure as hell needs to be open about it because I do know that I’m in a really privileged position to give you the chance to destigmatize this thing,” Glavan says.

Richards, who was featured on the quilt of “Runner’s World” and has collaborated with brands like Nike and Hoka, says there’s a whole lot of work to be done, especially for athletes.

“There’s still a whole lot of stigmas that I even without delay am combating,” he says. “The trend that is going on without delay, it’s helpful however it’s not helpful because there are a whole lot of individuals who haven’t been cannabis advocates or cannabis users long enough to even speak on the culture.”

In line with Richards, the true turning point shall be when brands are willing to fund cannabis-centric runners and groups to assist them grow.

“There’s only a few runners that wish to openly admit that they use. There’s this stigma that sponsorships are going to be revoked,” says Glavan, who’s a Hoka ambassador. “As increasingly runners speak about it, it’ll be a ripple effect where other runners feel like they’ll speak about it.”