ABSTRACT
Today, the sport of running includes many different activities: cross-country running, track and field, road racing (including relatively short distances up to ultrarunning events), and recreational, noncompetitive running. Unlike many organized sports, running appears throughout history. Running has evolved from an activity pursued for the purposes of survival, to one pursued voluntarily for competition and recreation. As a primarily individual sport, runners must face their own limits, as opposed to many other team-based or combat sports, in which athletes often literally face members of the opposing team. This important dynamic may contribute to some of the psychiatric issues recognized within the sport of running. Issues that specifically arise relatively commonly in running relate to exercise addiction, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, substance use, and other medical conditions. These will all be addressed, including symptomatic presentation and treatment considerations, within this chapter.
