Is running the most gratifying pursuit?

I tried cycling earlier this year, and did a few thousand miles, I was really into it for a few months. This was after some injuries from running. I thought I may never go back to running, but it just comes down to this - I like cycling but LOVE running.

Oh, and that cycling shit is expensive as hell too.

The problem you will find with bowling is that at some point you will get so good that your scores will become more dependant on lane conditions than on your skill. I could go to the bowling alley, throw 4 or 5 practice balls and know what my score would be that day.

The closest thing I have found to running is the stairmaster. I did that until I got in such good shape, I could max out the speed for 4 hours a day. I then bought the fastest stairmaster and eventually worked my way up to 20 hours a week at the fastest speed. I eventually tired of putting that much time in and have switched predominately to an exercise bike that I can track the effort. The last couple years, I have been working on improving. The downside is that there are no stairmaster or stationary bike competitions and I have no interest in doing bike races.

I have been out from running for 3 years but hope to be able to run again in another 12-18 months.

I always thought there should be eliptical competitions, but for me nothing compares to running.

Oh, and that cycling shit is expensive as hell too.

I've often fantacized about what it would be like to be a scratch golfer, work at a pro shop and go around playing in tournaments every weekend. I used to work at a major golf/country club and the competitive golfers behave a lot like runners.

I like to imagine that I'm a hero in different sports (when the World Series comes I start game 7, for basketball I steal the ball with 3 seconds left, etc...), but really I'm happy that I got cut from basketball and decided not to try out for baseball. I don't like cycling even though I ride my bike to work. I enjoy running a lot because its something I control. I genuinely love running.

Rock climbing/mountaineering is the only pursuit that makes me forget about running (and vice versa)

I bet boxing is satisfying. It's gotta be awesome to knock someone out when you're dead tired.

Hitting a home run is one of the best feelings I've ever had. Also, hitting a game winning shot in basketball is pretty amazing. I guess the game winning shot is analogous to outkicking someone and getting the come from behind win in a race, but there's something special about how definitive the end is when the buzzer goes off and you can see the scoreboard.

Basketball was probably ultimately more rewarding, because you face such a variety of opponents (height being the main variable here), and there are so many intriguing tactics and possibilities. I was primarily a 400m guy, so I haven't gotten the taste for racing tactics that a 1500m guy would've had.

Very true about lane conditions. I tried a sport league which utilizes the 5 PBA oil patterns and was lost. It made me a lot more accurate, however and taught me how to better adjust when the conditions change. Standard house shots have become quite routine now.

This is a great question......one that I have often wondered about as well. I have found surfing to be a lot like running for me and it is something I LOVE as much as running--- Great workout and in the moment much like running!

buckeyea wrote:

I bet boxing is satisfying. It's gotta be awesome to knock someone out when you're dead tired.

I'm sure the resulting concussions and brain damage might remove some of the satisfaction.

you are not a good bowler unless you can adapt to each lane condition you are faced with

rippy cripple wrote: The downside is that there are no stairmaster or stationary bike competitions and I have no interest in doing bike races.

Maybe not, but I think users of the Concept 2 rowing machine do in fact stage virtual competitions.

I've got a WaterRower. Haven't used it in a while, and it's nowhere near as satisfying as running.

As for the question posed by the subject: it said "pursuit" not "sporting activity". Jogging is awfully nice when done horizontally too. Especially if your form is good, you practice minimalism, and have a fine finishing kick.

I haven't been able to run for a couple of decades because of a chronic hip injury. I replaced that with cycling and rock climbing. I'm better at cycling than rock climbing, but I was pretty comfortable at the 5.9 level as a climber and was looking forward to moving up to 5.10. But after a climbing trip in the Grand Tetons in the summer of 2006, I developed a groin strain that has not healed.

So now I just cycle. I think it's more thrilling to ride a bike at 20 mph than to run at 6:30 pace. But running has the virtue of allowing you to train for PRs and compare times with other runners. That's a huge motivator that cyclists don't have. Also, the time spent running is more efficient than cycling. An hour of high-end aerobic running is a decent workout. You'd have to ride at least 90 minutes on a bike to get something comparable.

On the other hand, the diminishing returns from time spent running happens much sooner. So if you DO have the time to ride 10 hours a week, you can compete against younger or more naturally talented guys who can find time to ride only half as much.

Another difference between running and cycling is that group rides are usually intense, even becoming surrogate races. My theory is that since cyclists don't have PRs to train for the way runners do, they get their need for competition on group rides. If I want to do a purely aerobic bike ride, I go out by myself.

Average runner wrote:

Very true about lane conditions. I tried a sport league which utilizes the 5 PBA oil patterns and was lost. It made me a lot more accurate, however and taught me how to better adjust when the conditions change. Standard house shots have become quite routine now.

I haven't bowled in 6 or 7 years (before they started the sport shots). It is a great tool to become a better bowler and even improve your average on house shots. I bowled in scratch tourneys almost weekly at different houses and practiced at even more houses. I probably bowled in 40 different houses so I had to learn every shot you could imagine.

What really opened up the lanes for me was learning to bowl without my thumb in the ball. This allowed me to rev up the ball and get enough drive on oily conditions to carry. If the lanes were drier, I would put my thumb in the ball and straighten it out.

I would take 4 bowling balls to a tourney. I could throw 2 of them with my thumb in. I could throw all four with my thumb out and I could turn 2 of them around and throw them with my thumb out giving me 8 different ball reactions.

It takes a lot of time to build up the strength to throw with your thumb out because you have to bend real low to the ground and your backswing is shorter. You have to use your legs more like Norm Duke. After not having bowled any for over 3 years, I bowled 3 games a while back and my legs were so sore I could hardly walk for a couple days. At one time I was averaging 20-25 games a day.

Since I've stopped running competitively, I've been playing a lot of ultimate frisbee, and also doing some mountain biking. It's hard to beat the rush of mountain biking, and playing ultimate is just pure fun, but I'd still say finishing a long run or a tough track workout, not to mention running a PR or winning a race, was more satisfying than anything else I've done athletically.

I once body-surfed a wave for close to a minute on a crazy 15+ foot face at Makapu'u Beach in Oahu and it was by far my best ride on or off a board. It was just a wild fluke, and when I was skimming along I could see people on the beach pointing at me and cheering. Quite the rush for a Haole--I was a tingling electric wire for the rest of the day. I can't imagine someone riding 30-footers all day long, they must be totally hooked.

Running is No. 1 for me day to day. If I'm hurt then it's cycling or rowing or hitting the bags to get the heartrate and mertabolism fired up but those are not the same. I can never quite understand those who say they "hate" running. I suppose to an extent it's an acquired taste, but it seems people who are out of shape tend to be so out of touch with their bodies they don't really understand the whole endorphin connection.

nothing can beat waiting at the starting line to race your guts out over a muddy, rainy, cold xc course.

Plus getting up a 6am to put in another 5 mile run in order to maintain the required 85-100mpw- Totally gratifying eh?