I spent last Sunday running through my beautiful city of Chicago. More than a million spectators showed up to cheer on the 53,000 runners at the 2025 Chicago Marathon. When you're out on a marathon course for a little over four hours (not my ideal time, but as I've gotten older, speed is now longer the priority), you have a lot of time to think. And one of the things I thought about a lot on Sunday, other than how lucky I am to be able to do this, is how much two of my favorite things in the world -- reading and running -- have in common.
There is no shortage of articles on the web -- including by big-name writers like John Green -- about how writing and running are similar. But not many about how reading and running are. But they are! Here are the eight ways reading is a lot like running.
1. Both are anxiety-busters
If you only read one item on this list, read this one. This is so important. Reading and running are both ESSENTIAL for my mental health. Without these, I'd be an anxiety-addled mess curled up in a ball and literally not able to function. In Michael Clune's brilliant novel Pan, a character suffering from anxiety stays up all night immersed in reading a book because as long as he's reading, his mind is occupied and not free to roam and catastrophize. I've never read something that so closely matches my experience for one of the reasons I love reading. And running is the same -- not only does it keep my mind occupied in the moment, but also it keeps me focused on a goal, which for me, helps reduce anxiety. Though this is a whole essay on its own, "running therapy" has even been prescribed as a treatment for anxiety instead of pharmaceuticals for some cases. Living with anxiety can be difficult. Finding things you love to do helps. Finding things you love to do that themselves can be treatments is invaluable.2. Both, when going well, can bring about an intense feeling of well-being
Running and reading, though, aren't just about combatting the negative. They also both can make you FEEL AMAZING! Yes, the "runner's high" is REAL, but it is honestly pretty rare. When it happens though, it's intense -- a feeling of euphoria like nothing can hurt you and nothing can ever go wrong again. I haven't done a lot of drugs in my life, but I imagine that's what the drug-induced high must feel like. Even without a runner's high, running still just makes you feel great. My mood is almost always improved when I'm back from a run. It may take a crowbar to pry me out the door, but I never regret it when it's done. Similarly, when you're reading something really good, and you're in the flow state, and you suddenly forget you have a body, and you are so connected to the page, it's as if you've stepped outside yourself. That feels amazing, too!
3. Both, when not going well, are susceptible to slumps
Look, it's not all sunshine and magical unicorns. Runners and readers both slump, and when you do, it feels like you'll never do the thing again. Or if you are doing the thing, you're taking no joy from it. Always important to remember: This too shall pass. Slumps are temporary. My advice on busting slumps is always do the thing, but shorter. Do a series of shorter runs. Read a short story. Ideally, this'll kickstart your running/reading habit...and more importantly help you remember why you love doing the thing.
4. Both are, and help reinforce, healthy habits
The simple key to creating a healthy habit is to find something you love to do, and continue doing it. I'm not trying to be glib. But that's just a fact. When people tell me they're trying to get into running, my first question is always "How do you like it so far?" and if they say "I hate it" well it's probably not a habit that'll stick. That's totally fine! But if you find a way to do it in such a way that you don't hate it, soon that not-hate grows into like, and soon after that, before you even know it, you'll love it. Again, I can't emphasize this enough, because I've learned this the hard way: It's a lot easier to form a healthy habit when the thing you're doing is something you love! It's the same with reading -- when someone comes into the bookstore and says they're trying to get back into reading, and ask for a recommendation, I always trying to give them something light and fun -- an on-ramp to further investigation of their reading interest; a gateway. Related to this discussion and absolutely worth mentioning is that both reading and running are also addictive. Addiction, by definition, is not healthy in any form. Not to make light of addiction, but if you're going to be addicted to something, it could be a lot worse than reading and running. This is also a whole essay on its own.
5. Both include impossibly ambitious lists
How's your To Be Read pile? Mine -- which is literally a pile of books -- is teetering to the point of collapse. I'm just praying I'm not caught underneath it when it does, or I'll be like Principal Skinner in that one Simpsons episode. How's your marathon / half marathon goal list? If you had infinite funds, time, and health, would you be able to run a race in all 50 states, do all seven of the World Marathon Majors, or any other ambitious running goal runners set for themselves?
6. Both lead to greater empathy
The empathy benefits to reading are self-evident: Reading helps you walk a mile in someone else's shoes. It helps you see the world through someone else's eyes; understand their worldview, challenges, joys, sorrows, and so much more. This is a good thing. You may not have thought that running can do the same, but it totally does. I'm a middle-class, middle-aged white male: My life is not difficult or painful. Running sometimes can be difficult and painful. Running is a reminder, no matter how small, that many other peoples' pain and difficulties are 10 million times worse than mine. That helps me not to become complacent about or desensitized to the state of the world. And not being desensitized is crucial to continuing to take action to fight back against (gestures at everything).
7. Both lead to annoyed friends because all readers and runners want to do is talk about is reading and running😅
If you've met and talk with me in person, you know within five minutes about my next race or what I'm currently reading. That's not unique to me: All readers and runners are like this. We just love to talk about what we're passionate about! I've gotten more mileage than a 1982 Toyota Tercel out of this dumb joke: How can you tell someone is training for a marathon? Wait five seconds and they'll tell you. It's funny because it's true.
8. Both lead to new lifelong, life-changing friendships
I have not found two more close-knit, supportive communities than the running and reading communities. I have met people I never would've without these hobbies -- people who are now close friends. I really, really love that about these two things.
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