Why running is the best stress relief RU has to offer

“I’m stressed out!” I know I am, I know you are, and I know for a fact that anybody working in University is, too.

Like any young adult in Rutgers University, the stress from taking baby steps into the adult world eats away at you, and unfortunately, sometimes the one place you find solace becomes too inconvenient for your stay.

But I want you to think for a second about doing something so different, so, dare I say painful, that is just might be the solution to your problems. Run. Take your legs out into the natural world, and use them for what they are for: run fast, until you hear your heart pounding fast, as if it’s beating away all the bad grades that caused you so much anxiety.

I’m not going to diss anybody who enjoys lifting, but in my experience in the College Avenue Gym, I’ve noticed that running, this natural ability that we’re supposed to be proud of, is becoming rare.

So rare that most people can’t run 10 meters without going out of breath. I want to admit that the thought of running a mile is scary, and when I was in high school, it wasn’t the first idea that went into my head when I wanted to GET RID of stress, but that all changed when I was dealing with the VERY stressful situation of applying for colleges.

Months had passed, I hadn’t received a letter yet, and I was pretty sure it was because of that wretched D I got in Physics. One night when I had nothing to do, I went for a walk. Despite  the fresh air, my mind was still on the possibility of me not going to college and failing life, I noticed I started walking faster. I thought of all the times my mother told me my SAT scores were inadequate, I started jogging. I thought of how my father sighed in disappointment every time I told him at dinner how I did not get that Scarlet Acceptance letter, I damn near sprinted.

By the time I got to my local park, a three mile journey, my phone told me 45 minutes had passed. And despite that embarrassingly pathetic timing, my heart thumped, my face felt hot, I wanted to lie down yet at the same time I wanted to keep stomping the pavement as if I was running to somewhere happier: I felt baptized in my sweat.
By the time I made running a ritual, I noticed my anxiety had died down, my outlook for the future was determination, not worry, and most importantly, I was happier. The day I was accepted to Rutgers University, I was so happy I ran five miles nonstop. And now that I’m here, fellow Knights, I want to share the same secret to happiness with you: Run. Visualize the pavement around the campus, and I want you to run as if the combination of your grades, your tuition, and your deadlines are all manifested into this ugly monster that’s chasing you. It wants to consume you into the anxiety, but it won’t beat you. You’ve made it this far in life, your legs will take you farther.

You keep making jokes that you can’t run. You feel like huffing and puffing for that mile is damn near impossible, but I have news for you: human beings are the best runners on this earth. Our ancestors spent YEARS evolving, we survived on this planet by chasing down prey into exhaustion. The combination of our long limbs and our ability to sweat makes human beings the best long distance runners in the world, and in places like South America, the Tarahumara tribe still use this method of prey capture by running hundreds of miles every week.

It’s this ability that evolved with us for necessary survival, and THIS is the reason why running  is what will destroy this stress you are having. THIS is the reason why I implore you to use it. Running from tigers and to your next meal doesn’t happen anymore, but humans sense danger and adrenaline everywhere. If you’re not going to run from monsters for basic survival anymore, run from the monsters that are destroying your head. Go outside, move your legs in that amazing motion that helped our species survive for so long, and reach that mile by running from your RU screw.