Are you moved by the sight of a winding trail along a cliffy buttress or a mountain peak on the far horizon? Do you feel a strong sense of awe and wonder when you gaze into the night sky or watching the dancing light of a sunset? If so, you may be like us. We crave the sensations of the outside world and imagine what lies beyond what we can see. We are ultrarunners, and we come with a strong pull to get to the other side of the unknown. This driving desire is known as curiosity.
If there is one absolute requirement to being an ultra runner, it is having a strong sense of curiosity.
Furthermore, ultrarunners are driven toward adventure, often despite clear physical and environmental risks to their wellbeing. Curiosity is what lies behind this drive to explore both the beauty of our physical environment as well as our own personal limits. Exploring stimulates release of dopamine, the body’s natural reward system. As we encounter new things, the hippocampus of the human brain releases the feel-good hormone, rewarding our curiosity1. For this reason, scientists associate curiosity with the development of human intelligence1. But some animals and people score higher on the scales of curiosity than others2. Where do you fall on the scale?
Five Dimensions of Curiosity
Clearly, if you’re an ultrarunner, you probably feel like a fairly curious person. But researchers Todd B. Kashdan, et al. define five distinguishable attributes to the curiosity trait of humans2 and we don’t all score high on every one.
- Deprivation Sensitivity or the desire to fill our gaps in knowledge
- Joyous Exploration or the wonder we have about the world around us
- Social Curiosity or desire to gain information about others
- Stress Tolerance or ability to accept anxiety associated with new experiences
- Thrill Seeking or the willingness to take risks for the sake of experience
Some ultrarunners, may find their desires to run fit neatly into two or three of these categories. Others, however, may recognize all of these clearly contributing to their daily desire to run further, faster, higher, or more. For those ultrarunners, there are limitless opportunities to explore the world of running in new and creative ways. In any case, tapping into your own sense of curiosity is one key to the neurochemistry behind the intrinsic dopamine-mediated motivation of ultra running.
1. Kidd C, Hayden BY. The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity. Neuron. 2015;88(3):449-460. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.010
2. Kashdan, Todd & Stiksma, Mel & Disabato, David & Mcknight, Patrick & Bekier, John & Kaji, Joel & Lazarus, Rachel. (2017). The Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale: Capturing the bandwidth of curiosity and identifying four unique subgroups of curious people. Journal of Research in Personality. 73. 10.1016/j.jrp.2017.11.011.
About the Author:
Kristina Pattison is a Missoula, Montana based runner focused on mountain, ultra, sky and trail. Locally, she works as a physical therapist for Alpine Physical Therapy at the Peak Health and Wellness Center Downtown. She is board certified in orthopedics and certified as a specialist in strength and conditioning. Formerly, Kristina worked as a wildland firefighter and Missoula Smokejumper. She is passionate about helping athletes dream big and achieve their goals. Contact Kristina today about coaching through Flight Phase Coaching.