Feeling down? Make a run for it

Earlier this year, I enjoyed dozens of cross-country ski outings. Now we wait out “false spring” and anticipate “second winter.”

Jokes aside, gray days can get us down. 

But there could be another reason behind the doldrums: We’re high. 

According to an article by Hoehun Ha of Auburn University at Montgomery and published by the news organization The Conversation, “Studies suggest altitude is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms.” 

What’s more, Ha stated that, after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, “for every increase of 100 meters in altitude, suicide rates increase by 0.4 per 100,000.” The correlation between altitude and suicide was confirmed in 17 of 19 studies, according to the journal Public Health Nursing, and shown again in a 2022 study of veterans. 

The map of U.S. suicide rates could double as a topo map. For comparison, Kalispell, at nearly 3,000 feet, sits about 400 feet below Chamonix, in the French Alps. 

Ross Pomeroy, writing for the website Big Think, picked up the thread: “Given that the link between altitude and suicide has been so thoroughly vetted, researchers’ next task is to explain it. They have focused on one leading hypothesis: hypoxia. Oxygen concentrations are lower at higher altitudes, meaning that the blood might not be able to deliver enough of the life-essential element to the body’s tissues, particularly the brain.” 

As depressing as that is, it just means that habitués of higher elevations have to try harder for happy.

Fortunately, we have options. A good sweat from exercise boosts mood, endorphins and health. 

Usually I lope along Grandview Drive, but now with trepidation. On one of my runs there last fall, a big black attack dog ambushed me and refused to let me continue — or at least I didn’t test him. Whoever’s dog that is, they owe me an apology and a new pair of underwear. 

Knowing that the key to meeting fitness goals is accountability with like-minded folks and a schedule, I thought of a run club. Plus, safety in numbers, right? 

I saw a new group had formed: the Flathead Fliers. I woke up early on a recent Saturday to get to the meeting spot. As I stretched and scrutinized people, it dawned on me as the minutes ticked by that the run this day was not to be.  

That left the Bias Run Club, which for years has taken off from the brewery on Main Street at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. One of the early arrivals mentioned training for a 100-miler this summer. 

When other runners said we’d do three to four miles, I was relieved. 

The group decided on a loop to the bypass. How glorious to enjoy the perfect temperature and leave behind the car traffic and smokers outside the mall. We cruised along the Parkline Trail then skirted the site of the future Ashley Creek Park and amusements such as a “Garage Mahal.” 

About halfway through I lost sight of the main pack. I could just pick out one runner’s neon jacket and then that, too, disappeared. As I wove my way back, I could feel the physical and mental lift. It felt fabulous — especially at the end.

Margaret E. Davis, executive director of the Northwest Montana History Museum, can be reached at mdavis@dailyinterlake.com.