Mile 9: The Need to Run

What if your most disciplined habit was also your quietest dependency?

In this episode, we unpack Chapter 9 of The Runner’s Paradox: an exploration of addiction not as drama, but as routine. We ask what happens when running becomes your only method of emotional regulation, your only story of success, your only form of control.

Drawing beyond the book’s research, exploring newer developments from 2023–2025, we examine the neurobiology of compulsive endurance behavior, the psychological scaffolding of identity collapse, and how the digitalization of running (through wearables and Strava) may be accelerating distress.

Addiction here isn’t a substance. It’s a structure.

Through the lens of phenomenology, affect theory, and sport psychology, we reflect on the moment when freedom becomes a form of exile and when high performance hides deep fragility. We look at the gendered dimensions of overtraining, the anxiety of rest, and the existential threat of injury when your only self is the runner-self.

But this isn’t just a critique. It’s an invitation. To recover not only balance, but plurality. To rebuild identity from multiplicity, not metrics.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Mok Ying Rong. Learn more and purchase the book at therunnersparadox.com. Subscribe to this podcast series and listen mid-run. Especially when the silence feels loud.

⸻

Evidence beyond the book (2023–2025) ​ Egorov, A. Y., & Szabo, A. (2023). Exercise addiction and its related factors in amateur runners: A critical review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 21, 1032–1050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00647-0 ​ Oberle, C. D., & Murray, M. A. (2023). Psychological distress and overtraining in collegiate endurance runners: A gendered analysis. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2022.2109443 ​ Baek, H. J., & Choi, E. (2023). Technostress and motivation in recreational runners using fitness apps. Digital Health, 9, 20552076231187732. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231187732

Chapter 8: Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner

Part 3 of The Runner’s Paradox quietly dims the spotlight: this time we’re not chasing paces, we’re chasing presence.

In a conversation that’s equal parts wit and wonder, we invite you into the lonely miles where silence becomes your most honest running partner.

We explore the “missing witness” that haunts every long-distance runner, unpacking how thousands of Strava likes can still leave you feeling invisible, and how social media’s applause can ring hollow.

We reflect on solitude as both sanctuary and rupture, drawing on cutting-edge research into loneliness in sport, psychological rest in athletes, and the hard-won difference between being alone and being lonely.

By the end, we’re not just running through Chapter 8 of The Runner’s Paradox—we’re reinhabiting it.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Mok Ying Rong, available now for purchase at therunnersparadox.com.

Subscribe and press play—best experienced mid-run. Let’s embrace the echo together.

New research explored beyond the book (2023-2025)

​Jackman, P. C., Hawkins, R. M., Bird, M. D., Williamson, O., Vella, S. A., & Lazuras, L. (2024). Loneliness in sport: A systematic mixed‑studies review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. ​Owen, K. B., Manera, K. E., Clare, P. J., Lim, M. H., Smith, B. J., Phongsavan, P., … Eime, R. (2024). Sport participation trajectories and loneliness: Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 21(12), 1341–1350. Ahn, J., Falk, E. B., & Kang, Y. (2024). Relationships between physical activity and loneliness: A systematic review of intervention studies. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 6, Article 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2023.100141

Eccles, D. W., Caviedes, G., Balk, Y. A., Harris, N., & Gretton, T. W. (2021). How to help athletes get the mental rest needed to perform well and stay healthy. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 12(4), 259–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2021.187320

Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40, 218–227. ​Tubed, T., Đorđević, V., Đorđević, D., & Đorđević, M. (2023). Loneliness and physical activity in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Children, 10(2), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020276

Zhou, F., Liu, Y., Huang, X., Zhang, M., & Chen, H. (2025). Body image, loneliness, and physical activity: A bidirectional relationship. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 12124. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16307-8

Eagleton, S., Alford, J., & Patel, M. (2025). The role of sport in tackling loneliness: More complex than it seems. Tackling Loneliness Hub. https://tacklinglonelinesshub.org/the-role-of-sport-in-tackling-loneliness-more-complex-than-it-seems/