Five Reasons Why You Should Go Running Together on Your Next Date

Forego the flowers, chocolate, and dinner for two and instead, slip on your grungiest sweats and a pair of sneakers and go for a run together!

Why? you ask. Why not?

Here are five reasons why sweating it out with your special someone is your next date-night dream.

Healthy competition—whether or not you like to admit it, chances are you like a good, healthy competition. The key word here is healthy. If you’re out to sprint a quarter mile ahead of your partner at all times, then tell them they’d better shape up, you’ve probably missed the point. But when you encourage each other to run faster or longer, it can feel good. Try adding intermittent sprints and channel your inner child—race you to the next stop sign! Ready, set, go!

Sweat is sexy—okay, maybe not in all cases, but the feeling that is produced when you’re physically active, regardless of the activity, is the same. Shortness of breath, plenty of sweat, a healthy flush in your cheeks. Am I happy to see you or just trying to get in some exercise? Take your partner out on a run and it can be both.  

Emotional attunement—A 2010 study found that mimicry, or matching the motions of your partner, could lead to feelings of attunement and bonding. Picture yourself in the zone—you’ve just hit your perfect stride, you feel like you’re flying as you jog downhill. Now, imagine your partner beside you, matching each step stride-for-stride, the cadence of your breath perfectly timed in and out. Exhilarating, right? It’s the feeling of, “I’m doing this,” only it’s, “We’re doing this.”

Boost your mood—bad day at work, kids driving you crazy? A good run can break up even the worst moods. Don’t believe it? According to David Linden, neuroscientist at John Hopkins University, running increases the amount of endocannabinoids in the blood stream. Yep, that word looked like cannabis for a reason. Endocannabinoids move from the blood stream into the brain and produce a calming effect. Get stoned (off biochemicals produced by the body) together and you won’t care whose turn it is to unload the dishwasher.

Do something different—whether you’ve been happily coupled for years, or are still blissfully in the infatuation stage, doing something out-of-the-ordinary can be exciting. Go the extra mile for your running date and plan a route past a place that is special to each of you. Cover the course ahead of time and leave hidden clues or presents along the way. Make it special, or don’t plan a thing and just go for a run. It’s different, and maybe a little weird, but definitely worth a try.

Did you take a running date with your special someone? Let me know how it went in the comments below.