You've bonked at mile 70. You've hallucinated headlamps that turned out to be fireflies. You've made decisions at 3 a.m. that your well-rested self would never endorse. If you've spent any time in ultras, you already know the sport is as much a cognitive challenge as a physical one. But researchers are now starting to quantify exactly what happens inside your skull when you push deep into the long miles — and the findings are equal parts encouraging and humbling.
Miles on Your Mind: What Ultrarunning Actually Does to Your Brain
Science is catching up to what we've suspected all along — running long distances rewires your brain in ways both fascinating and sobering. Here's what the research says about cognition, mood, and the mental cost of going long.
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