The Running Man in the Mirror of Philosophy (review of the collective monograph "Running & philosophy. A marathon for the mind»)

Kannykin Stanislav Vladimirovich PhD in Philosophy Associate professor of the Department of Humanities at Stary Oskol Technological Institute named after A. Ugarov, branch of National University of Science and Technology "MISIS" 309516, Russia, Belgorod Region, Stary Oskol, micro district Makarenko, 42 stvk2007@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Postmodern philosophy, as is known, is characterized by an interest not so much in eternal ideological problems, as in understanding various everyday practices determined by diverse circumstances and conditions of a person's life, as well as natural and social processes in their many intertwinings. It is important to note that for modern thinkers, a person is not an embodied spirit in the radiance of pure reason, but a bodily and spiritual being, whose existence, which became especially obvious in the dramatic situation of the recent COVID?19 pandemic, critically depends not only on the well-being of his own body, but also on the "collective body" of humanity as a whole. Today, both individual sciences and their interdisciplinary complexes are engaged in understanding human physicality (from building up "bodily capital" and new gender forms to the psychology of sports and the phenomenon of kalokagathy), which allows us to talk about the axiology of the body, its sociology, ontology, anthropology, etc. The discourse of physicality is becoming mainstream in modern culture, which is sometimes defined as "telocentric", which is associated with the crisis of logocentric metanarrations, in which the "logo" should be understood both as a "word" and as a "mind". As G. L. Tulchinsky writes, philosophical "telocentrism" presupposes "non-verbal ratio, tactility and eroticism, sexus and sexism as sources and initial metaphors of philosophizing, the transition in basic cognitive feelings from sight and hearing to touch, tactility, the revival on this basis of interest in pre-scientific and extra-scientific forms of understanding reality. Such an approach has undoubtedly enormous creative potential, gives a powerful stimulating impulse to intuition, scientific research, and argumentation" ^[24].

The intensively developing body industry in its mass segment over the past few decades has given rise to such a phenomenon as amateur long-distance races (half marathons and marathons are the most common), in which tens of thousands of people of different ages simultaneously take part, for whom running becomes both a means of health promotion and a tool for personal improvement. Combining the development of body and soul in stayer running practices, running enthusiasts illustrate the correctness of Locke's judgment that "a healthy mind in a healthy body ? here is a brief but complete description of the happy state in this world" ^{[13, p. 411]}. The mass nature of amateur running has led to the advertising popularity of a running person, who expresses the dynamism and nomadism of our time in the best possible way; a lean, "run-out" body is often perceived as a standard of beauty; leaders of public opinion consider it an honor to participate in amateur marathons of the world level; many running projects are organized with socially significant goals (environmental, charitable, memorial and running tourism is developing intensively; running metaphorics is an important component of the discourse of modern media ("running on the spot", "running in a circle", "running with obstacles", etc.), but the most valuable thing is that mass amateur running provides the need of society "in the main locomotive of development – purposeful, physically and mentally developed, striving for constant improvement, "ecologically loaded", harmoniously combining healthy individualism and collectivism, benevolent, self-reliant and appreciating fair competition of the individual" ^{[8, p. 50]}. It can be argued with good reason that modernity has given rise to a new image of man ? homo currens ("man running"), which acquires conceptual significance for topical anthropological and socio-cultural studies.

The phenomenon of the "running man" is actively comprehended in modern Anglo-American philosophy. This is largely due to the fact that jogging has become "... a way of life, a national hobby of Americans, from college to old age, the gospel that they carried into the world" [Medvedev S. Running Man. Moscow: New Literary Review, 2021. p. 38. URL: https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/7740 / (date addresses: 04/23/2023)], it is not for nothing that three of the six most massive and prestigious major marathons (Boston, Chicago, New York) are held in the USA. The fundamental research of recent years is the collective monograph "Running and Philosophy. Marathon for the Mind" (2007) ^[3], edited by  By Michael Austin and includes 19 articles dealing with various philosophical aspects of amateur running practices. The value of this monograph lies in achieving a comprehensive philosophical understanding of running activity, carried out by researchers of worldview issues who themselves are fond of running. The professional study of the socio-cultural determination of the activities of homo currens is combined here with an analysis of personal experience of participating in stayer races and other running practices, which ensures the confessional and emotionality of the presentation, often seasoned with self-irony and specific humor of runners, as well as the existential validity of the author's conclusions. This monograph has not been translated into Russian, is not available in electronic form and, as far as we know, has not been introduced into scientific circulation in our country, where interest in amateur stayer running has been rapidly increasing lately, which largely determines the relevance of the research.

 Running as a factor of anthropogenesis, or the Happy Ant

Sharon Kay ^[12] actualizes the topic of the importance of taking into account our natural predispositions for a person to find a happy life. The researcher believes that historically there have been two directions of movement towards happiness: religious (dedication of life to the Creator) and cultural (intellectual and moral improvement). Sh. Kay believes that a third way is also possible – the biological one, to which running is directly related. She proceeds from her conviction in the truth of the modern theory of evolution, arguing that "Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, supplemented by later discoveries in genetics, geology and other fields, is the only correct description of the history of planet Earth. Although every reasonable person accepts this premise, many are unable to realize its far-reaching consequences" ^{[12, p. 162]}. And these consequences are as follows: of the 2.5 million years of homo's history, only about 10,000 of the last years we have existed as sedentary farmers (this is about five minutes on the dial, the circle of which symbolizes the length of the history of our species). The rest of the time we were hunter-gatherers, while "the difference between a hunter-gatherer and a farmer is as deep as the difference between an ant and a spider. Ants are always on the move; spiders spin webs and wait. <...> This means that the modern way of life, which we consider "human", is not human at all by and large" ^{[12, p. 162]}. This is due to the fact that for about 500 generations of settlement, evolution could not "reformat" our species from the highly mobile functioning of a hunter to the sedentary lifestyle of a human civilization, it needs much more time to accumulate random mutations. At the same time, biologically, we are not only still hunter-gatherers, but also runners. Only a person is equipped with anatomical and physiological features (first of all, sweat glands, Achilles tendon and powerful gluteal muscles), which allow him to run for a very long time, driving any animal that becomes prey to hunter runners to fatigue immobilization. Using sports terminology, we can say that we lose to many animals as sprinters, but we win against all as stayers, and the longer the distance, the higher our chances.

This means, believes Sh. Kay says that in order to achieve a good life, we need to rediscover the path of the ant: "in order to find happiness, we must get in touch with our inner hunter-gatherers" ^{[12, p. 163]}. Many of our physiological and psychological problems are due to the fact that we no longer do what nature created us to do,""it all boils down to the fact that thanks to the agricultural revolution, we can no longer hope to live the life that our bodies secretly crave. So, in order to avoid self-destruction, we must do the following: squeeze our hunting and gathering into that part of the day that we call "free time"" ^{[12, p. 164]}. Sh. Kay has about three hours of leisure time per day for the average person. Since we mostly move little at work and at home, it is running activity during leisure time that is the most accessible, safe (compared, for example, with cycling) and more effective means of releasing the "inner hunter". At the same time, "to get in touch with your inner hunter-gatherer, you just have to admit that you will have to sweat, and it must be hard and painful. Think of it this way: your workout should generate adrenaline triggered by a pack of hungry wolves on your tail. You can do it safely and easily in two hours: a quick 10 km run with a warm-up and a hitch, then some strength training or abs exercises along with intense stretching. Running is your main need, whether you realize it or not" ^{[12, p. 165]}. The researcher believes that the "biological" path to a good life is a modern, "enlightened" form of hedonism. The highest pleasure is a feeling of fullness of vitality in a healthy body, which is impossible to obtain without systematic physical exercise, including running.

Next, Sh. Kay convinces readers that the "biological" path to happiness is quite compatible with the religious and cultural concepts discussed earlier. Being an atheist, or at least an agnostic, she believes that religious people should recognize that God created the world evolutionarily and all mutations, which are interpreted by materialists as accidental, are divine providence. It follows that God "could have designed us so that we didn't move much, constantly sat on upholstered sofas or stood and chatted while eating cheap doughnuts and coffee. He obviously didn't do it. People who do this in their free time die from heart disease, cancer and diabetes ? all modern ailments completely unknown to our ancestors -"athletes". If God exists, it seems that we should do what he created us for, namely, live a "running" life" ^{[12, pp. 165-166]}.

Proponents of the "culturological" path to a happy life often disdain systematic physical activity, believing it to be the lot of people deprived of intelligence, deprived of high demands. The mistake of adherents of cultural concepts is that they consider science, politics, art, etc.  as an end in itself: "to say that something is an end in itself is to say that it is the greatest good, the most important thing of all. This means that you have to sacrifice your life for this. Would you put a bullet in your head to save the Mona Lisa? I'm not. We all know stories about crazy artists who sacrificed their lives for their art. But that's why we call them crazy" ^{[12, p. 169]}. The importance of all cultural components lies in the fact that they improve, support, and beautify human life, which is the highest value: "there is only one thing for which it is worth sacrificing one's own life, namely, the life of another person" ^{[12, p. 169]}.

Opponents may object that the followers of the criticized Sh. The Kays of the "culturological" position are genuine evolutionists, since they live in accordance with the achievements of the intellectual progress of mankind, which has spent millennia to escape from natural necessity. In this regard, the return to the "primitive" values inherent in the "running" life seems to be a manifestation of involution. The author of the article has two objections to this: firstly, evolution has no direction, and secondly, we have no reason to absolutize the differences between mind and body. Is life really "reasonable" when the achievements of intelligence cause diseases and vices of civilization, because of which "a lot of people live in quiet despair" (G. D. Thoreau)? On the contrary, the mind-body relationship should be harmonized: "We don't need to go back to the caves. Instead, we can use our intelligence to develop very sophisticated sports equipment, such as athletic shoes with air bubbles in the sole, to make our exercises more enjoyable" ^{[12, p. 170]}.

The conclusion of the author of the article expresses the ironic pathos of the reviewed monograph: "I come to the conclusion that a good life for a person does not consist in religious or cultural pursuits, but rather in biology and, in particular, in running. However, I must pay tribute to the philosophy responsible for revealing the mysteries of existence indirectly. Philosophy gave rise to science, which allowed Darwin to justify evolution, the understanding of which allows us today to know exactly how we should spend our free time correctly" ^{[12, p. 170]}.

Nash, proper apathy and Aristotle's advice to runners

Richard Dewitt ^[6] explores such an unusual form of collective running, which is called "hash running". Its essence is that one runner (called a "hare") starts earlier than a group of runners (it is called a "flock"), seeking to calculate his location from the traces left by the "hare" (which can sometimes be false, since the "hare" must be cunning and be able to skillfully confuse his tracks) in the form of flour or white laundry detergent, clearly visible on the ground, and then catch up. Since flour and powder resemble hashish in consistency and color (hashish in English, which is consonant with the word hash, one of the meanings of which is confusion), the participants of this running game call themselves "hashers", jokingly playing off the phonetic similarity of these words. It is important to note that "hash running" is primarily not a competition, but a game, which, in any case, ends with a friendly party of like-minded people who are pleasant to each other and united by running together. It is clear that this game dates back to the collective running hunt of ancient people, which was discussed by Sh. Kay ^[12].

   R. Dewitt emphasizes that the main property of hasher groups is a kind of carelessness, which is expressed by them in a phrase that blocks any excessive tension or negative emotions in the running game and refers to narcotic connotations – "running is a hash." The author of the article aims to substantiate the correspondence of the Hasher worldview to apathy as a special kind of relation to reality, justified by ancient philosophers of the Hellenistic period. R. Dewitt immediately warns about the illegality of identifying the modern understanding of the word "apathy" ("suppression of emotions") and its meaning in the period of Antiquity. Literally translated from Greek, apathy is dispassion, but not simple, but achieved only in the course of spiritual evolution: initially, "... a passionate study of philosophy <...> will lead a person to a carefree, calm state of mind. That is, passion will eventually lead to dispassion, proper apathy" ^{[6, p. 75]}. Thus, Cynics acquired apathy by following their natural impulses, first proving that the natural cannot be bad. The Stoics, studying existence within the framework of logic, physics and ethics, came to the conclusion that there is an all-pervading rational order, or logos, in the universe. Everything in the world happens in accordance with it, i.e. everything is as it should be, nothing else is possible. Knowing this ensures our dispassion. The Epicureans sought apathy on the path of a passion-free, simple lifestyle (avoiding unpleasant sensations) and the study of philosophy, especially physics. Knowledge of physics, they argued, leads to the understanding that there is nothing to be afraid of in space: we are indifferent to the gods, and after death we will have the same unruffled state that we had before birth. Skeptics justified the impossibility of fully definite knowledge about anything, suggesting that we act in accordance with what seems most natural: "Do not waste time thinking about what you prefer: medical school or a life associated with charity. Put aside judgments, don't worry about it, and take whatever course of action seems most natural. By cultivating this approach to life, you will not worry about anything. And this is a recipe for skeptics for peace of mind, that is, for apathy" ^{[6, p. 79]}.

Hash runners synthesize, as it were, all the ways to achieve apathy proposed by the philosophical schools of Antiquity. From cynics, hashers take the conviction of the positive significance of their pastime, which is due to the naturalness for a person of both running and collective cross–country hunting; from Stoics – a calm attitude to any outcome of the race; from Epicureans - fearlessness in conflict situations with the police or other people, sometimes arising during their somewhat shocking urban races; from skeptics ? the lack of categoricality when presenting their position during the collective choice of the direction of the search for the cunningly looping "hare". In conclusion, R. Dewitt notes that "... hasher tends to strive for what was the main goal of the Hellenistic schools, namely, a kind of carefree, unruffled state of mind. <…>. We can say that for them, their whole life is a hash" ^{[6, p. 79]}. 

Michael V. Austin ^[19] believes that the main goal of running, like all other human efforts, is to achieve happiness. The American researcher is attracted by the Aristotelian interpretation of happiness as the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. If running in its physical dimension provides a healthy body, then is there a metaphysical dimension of running activity that ensures the health of the soul – this is the question the author asks. In short, his answer can be summarized as follows: "Aristotle argues that in order to be virtuous, we need friendships in our lives. But not every friendship will do. We need to be involved in a special type of friendship, a friendship based on virtue. The friendship of runners often illustrates Aristotle's understanding of this higher form of friendship, as well as friendship in its lower forms. And, as we will see, running is well suited for the development of that friendship, which, according to Aristotle, is necessary for happiness" ^{[19, p. 12]}.

Aristotle distinguishes two types of friendship: based on benefits (for example, as a source of some material goods or services, as well as pleasant emotions) and based on virtue, when friends help each other to be good and live a decent life even in the absence of any other benefit. Runners know examples of both types of friendship. So, some train in a strong group of athletes to emulate them and use them as pacemakers. In this case, running partners are valuable not in themselves, but as a means of improving personal running conditions, and as soon as the partners lose this utilitarian property, the "friendship" stops. It is quite another matter to have a "high" friendship based on virtue and selfless service to each other. This is how M. V. Austin describes it: "Friends should trust each other deeply. Perfect friendship requires time, familiarity, mutual goodwill and mutual sacrifice. Each friend genuinely cares about the other's well-being and cares about the other because of his or her good character. Each helps the other to live a good life, a life of virtue and happiness. Since we are often prone to self-deception or, at least, to inaccurate assessments of our own character, we need good friends who can help us see ourselves as we really are, and then help us move towards virtue and happiness" ^{[19, p. 15]}.

The author convinces us that a long run together is a very suitable context for the development of an ideal friendship, since it involves overcoming difficulties together based on trust, care and mutual self-sacrifice, it is not for nothing that F. Nietzsche wrote that fatigue is the shortest path to equality and brotherhood. In a grueling long–term group run, your social status, ethnic and religious affiliation, gender, age and past achievements are absolutely not important - the group is based on the value of spiritual unity in a common cause and mutual support: "... one of the reasons why many runners run slower is that they want social interaction, which provides running. They would prefer not to run eight miles, panting all the way, <...> but to use this time to establish a friendly connection with another person" ^{[19, p. 17]}. A vivid manifestation of the "high" friendship of runners are numerous charity runs, especially common in the United States, whose participants, helping each other overcome the hardships of the distance, raise millions of dollars. "By combining friendship, running and working together for the common good in this way, we can personally experience and help nurture in others the type of happiness that is desirable for all people. We can run for happiness together" ^{[19, p. 19]}. And it is quite possible to agree with Michael V. The point is that Aristotle would advise us to go out for a run if we like it, but he would certainly add: take a good friend with you.

 Running on the way to superman

Reflecting on the nature of marathon runners' volitional efforts, R. A. Belliotti ^[4] turns to F. Nietzsche, focusing on his belief that we live in a meaningless, chaotic world, no matter what religion says about it. Decent human behavior in this situation consists in accepting this imperfect world as the only reality (Nietzsche calls it amor fati) and forming personal values and meanings that allow you to successfully realize your life project. At the same time, the inevitable suffering and adversity should be used for personal development, because, as you know, "everything that does not kill us makes us stronger." A vivid example of the transformation of suffering into willpower is provided by runners who have to struggle with both internal weaknesses and the forces of nature, and sometimes the social environment that does not understand them. At the same time, the main obstacle for the runner is his own "inner dwarf" as an opposition to the stayer who has embarked on the path of superman formation. There is too much human in the "inner dwarf" that needs to be eliminated: he does not like to overcome himself, indulging his mutes in the wheel of "eternal return", and is comforted by the illusions of another world, where his weaknesses will miraculously turn into strength. F. Nietzsche calls those defeated by the "inner dwarf" "the last people", whom R. A. Belliotti describes as follows: "They find solace in a narrow egalitarianism that separates them from the highest human possibilities: strong love, grandiose creativity, deep longing, passionate tension and adventures in the pursuit of perfection" m^{[4, p.7The runner is armed with discipline, firmness of character and willingness to take risks, which allows him not only to finish in the most difficult races, but also to improve personal results, gradually moving towards superstates that previously seemed completely inaccessible. "The Running Man" provides a vivid example of the realization of the will to power, namely, power over oneself, which consists in overcoming one's limitations that stand in the way of maximum personal realization both in running and in other projects. At the same time, the athlete realizes that the various challenges of a meaningless universe will accompany him all his life, so today's success does not guarantee anything tomorrow. This means that you need to constantly shape yourself through running practices: "Our life, Nietzsche teaches, is a process that ends only with death or from the moment when we lose the basic human abilities necessary to create ourselves. Until then, we must consider ourselves as sophisticated artists whose greatest creations are those personalities that we continue to improve" [4, p. 9]}. Thus, the stayer run is considered by R. A. Belliotti through the prism of F. Nietzsche's philosophy as a way of forming "superhuman" characteristics and gaining power over oneself, which contrasts the runner with the "last man" defeated by the "inner dwarf" and embodying philistinism.

 Running and existence, or Running to yourself

The appeal of the authors of the monograph to the philosophy of existentialism is also fruitful. So, Heather L. Reed ^[21] justifies the feeling of freedom described by many amateur stayers that they experience when running. To illustrate her reasoning, she uses Alan Sillitoe's short story "The Loneliness of a Long-distance Runner," whose main character, seventeen-year-old Colin Smith, is in a juvenile detention facility for theft. At the same time, the young man is an extraordinarily gifted runner who says about himself: "I run a five-mile circle faster than anyone I know" [Sillitou A. Loneliness of a long-distance runner. Moscow: AST, 2016. URL: https://www.rulit.me/books/odinochestvo-beguna-na-dlinnye-distancii-sbornik-read-433788-2.html (date of access: 04/23/2023)]. The head of the colony sets Smith the goal of winning the competition for the All England Cup in long-distance running among the inmates of correctional institutions for minors. To do this, he provides the young man with the opportunity to train outside the colony, of course, accompanied by police officers. However, Smith, who hates state violence, social injustice, deceit and hypocrisy, winning the cup competition by a wide margin, specially stops just before the finish line, waiting for a long time and then letting other runners go ahead and thereby protesting against the foundations of the "right" society, according to the standards of which he was re-educated in the colony. For Smith, running is the epitome of the honesty of life, an oasis of freedom, and Smith considers it impossible to use the so–experienced running to glorify the prison and its vain leadership.

  Analyzing the behavior of a literary hero, H. L. Reed draws attention to the fact that existential philosophy emphasizes individuality and rejects social pressure aimed at subordination. F. Nietzsche called society a "herd", noting in the Esse homo that "when a herd animal shines in the splendor of the purest virtue, then an exceptional person should to be relegated by evaluation to the level of evil" ^[17]. The true essence of man, called "authenticity" in existentialism, is found only when escaping from the "herd".  Jean-Paul Sartre connects this escape with the introduction of a person to the game, leveling seriousness as the basis of a "herd" life. It is in the game that a person finds freedom: "As soon as a person comprehends himself as free and wants to use his freedom <...> his activity becomes a game; he is, in fact, the first principle in it, he avoids natural nature; he sets himself the value and rules of his actions, obeying only those established and determined by himself rules" ^{[22, p. 420]}. Colin Smith may well escape from the colony during his morning runs, and even thinks about it, but unexpectedly realizes that his true freedom is not in escape, but in running itself as a process: "Sometimes it seems to me that I have never been so free as in these couple of hours, when I run out of the gate onto the path and turn off at a thick oak tree with bare branches at the end of the path" [Sillitou A. Loneliness of a long-distance runner. Moscow: AST, 2016. URL: https://www.rulit.me/books/odinochestvo-beguna-na-dlinnye-distancii-sbornik-read-433788-2.html (date of application: 04/23/2023)]. Heather L. Reed believes that in some sense we are all prisoners, and many of us long to leave the "herd" that deprives us of our freedom. It is running that can provide at least a temporary release, distancing us both physically from this overly serious world, and, more importantly, removing us from it mentally. "After pulling on our shorts and tying our shoes, we put on a uniform that is not accepted at work. Leaving our briefcase, mobile phone and car keys, we break away from the "real world" and find ourselves in a special space and time <...>. Like the police car chasing Smith on his run, the demands of life never completely disappear. But the act of running can make them slip out of sight ? just enough to catch a glimpse of ourselves" ^{[21, pp. 118-119]}.

Heather L. Reed concludes that the concept of authenticity was most fully explored by M. Heidegger, who believed that authenticity is the result of action, and not just existence. A running (i.e., acting) person not only gains freedom, but also comprehends his own limitations, one of which is our mortality, it is not for nothing that many runners describe states of extreme exhaustion as near-death, there are also cases of death of running enthusiasts at stayer competitions. Having "felt" death, runners become involved in the disturbing authenticity of the world, in responsibility for the allotted time of life, thereby resisting the mindless drifting behavior typical of the "herd". The author also notes that running leading to authenticity must necessarily be voluntary, it is the result of a conscious choice. It is the freedom of his running that Smith refuses to sacrifice to competitive victory. By deliberately losing the race, "Smith won the battle for independence from power. Like Sisyphus, he realizes his freedom by choosing what no one ever thought he would do. Like Sisyphus, he will gladly endure the punishment imposed by the head of the colony in the form of six months of hard labor, because this was also part of his audacious choice" ^{[21, p. 123]}.

Thus, Heather L. Reed believes that running can give each of us the existential benefits that it bestowed on Colin Smith: getting rid of the pressures of everyday life and distorted values of the "herd"; providing a play space that reduces the reality of an alien world and makes it possible to realize our freedom, limitations and the need to take responsibility for our actions; also Running can teach us freedom of choice: "Only by actively choosing to be who we really are can we achieve authenticity. Ideally, this choice will be expressed in our lives in addition to running, but the first choice should be to just run" ^{[21, p. 123]}.

Ross S. Reed ^[20] asks questions about the meaning of amateur running and about the issues and problems of human life solved with the help of this activity, referring to the works of S. Kierkegaard and J.-P. Sartre. Listing the most important values of existentialism (freedom, independence, truth, play), the author of the article explores their expression in stayer running.

To begin with, R. S. Reed will define knowledge as a static result presented in stable concepts, and thinking as a process, flow, activity, which correlates with running activity. Speaking about the existential truth, the researcher notes:  "We understand that this truth goes far beyond the limits of cognition, far beyond the static nature of concepts, far beyond the borrowed experience of others. It even seems that some people perceive running as their first real experience, their first non-borrowed experience, or quite possibly their only real experience. For this is our experience, born of passions and sufferings, and this is our truth, even if ephemeral. A truth that is inexplicably beyond knowledge, although vaguely recognized and respected as such. We run to see the eternal, universal (but revealed only in the private), mystical, but personal truth in order to break out of the prison of the intellect" ^{[20, p. 130]}. S. Kierkegaard called this truth "supreme" because it is beyond reason, being a kind of "revelation" that arises only in the experience of personal existence, presented in all its ontological completeness. Thus, he, like other existentialists, overcomes Cartesian dualism, which postulates the independence of thought from the body: truth is born in a complex interweaving of passion, will, body and mind, which is integrated by running activity. J.P. Sartre wrote that truth is the result of a complete "presence" in being, where we do not we know things abstractly, but "stumble" on them: "to stumble upon a thing is what a runner does with every breath, with every step. And with this knowledge, the runner surpasses the usual logical categories, he becomes ready for the mystical adventure awaiting him" ^{[20, p. 131]}. At a running distance, we first encounter the truth about ourselves (because, as S. Kierkegaard wrote, suffering directs a person inside himself), and then with our truth about the world. Physical running transcends us as an integral subject into the metaphysical dimensions of existence, where we would not be able to get without it.

It is obvious that the hard long run of amateur stayers is a manifestation of the triumph of free will over a cautious mind. In his work "Illness to Death", S. Kierkegaard links freedom, will and self-awareness in this way: "I am freedom. <...> The more consciousness, the more I am; for the more it grows, the more the will grows, and the more will, the more I am. A person without a will does not have an Ego; however, the more will he has, the more aware he is of himself" ^{[11, p. 46]}. By choosing to run, we allow the fundamental forces of being to manifest themselves through us, without knowing exactly where it will lead. But we hope that these forces will be able to take us to freedom, truth and self rooted in existence, which elude the ordinary person, for whom the main thing is the comfort of existence, that is, the avoidance of real life.  

R. S. Reed believes that running is a great opportunity to activate spontaneous imagination, during which we go beyond who we are in order to realize other life options provided to us by freedom: "Without imagination, we have no personal future, real hope, transcendent self" ^{[20, p. 134]}. Imagination is a kind of mind game that is activated by the playful nature of running. The importance of play as a path to selfhood was emphasized by J.P. Sartre, defining a person as "nothing" that does not have an unchangeable, predetermined essence, which is burdened with being manifested by things. According to J. P. Sartre, the vast majority of people cannot bear the burden of freedom and try their best to become something, that is, like things, to find a stable essence. However, the French philosopher thinks that these attempts are futile, because if a free being (nothing) could become something, it would mean that a person can be a thing (essence) and nothing (freedom) at the same time. "Unfortunately, the fact that this is not possible does not stop us. We continue to carry out our hopeless project of using freedom to get away from it, to become something, to have an essence" ^{[20, p. 136]}. And of course, we are not succeeding on this path. What should be done in this situation? Sartre sees only one way out: to realize his freedom in the game, thereby avoiding the dull seriousness of being, which condemns us to torment and endless struggle. It is essentially a game of amateur running that returns a person to his self, authenticity. This is manifested in the fact that a person no longer tries to hide from his freedom, he becomes able to contrast his way of existence with material reality, and the key to this authenticity is in the game: "To be a real person, play is as necessary as eating, drinking and sleeping. Running is an ancient and timeless form of play, a game that can be solo or with others, a game that requires almost no equipment or special conditions. Running does not require wealth, intelligence, or education, and, as I have long been convinced, winning competitions in my small town as a child, there is almost no talent. This is a universal form of play recognized by children all over the world" ^{[20, p. 138]}.

Thus, the resources of existentialism allow H. L. Reed and R. S. Reed to describe running as an activity freely chosen by a person, through which she finds the truth about a truly human way of existence and realizes her potential.

 A Race around anthropological dualism

J. J. Wisniewski ^[5] used running as an experimental factor, the dependent variables of which are perceptions of the world. The purpose of this philosophical experiment was to experimentally confirm the idea of M. Merleau-Ponty that they are conditioned by our bodily states. The French philosopher came to the conclusion that the human body is not a pure object opposed to the spirit – rather, it is a way of expressing the spirit in the world. Wisniewski formulates his two-pronged goal in this way: "If I had allowed my body to learn to run, the world would have opened up to me in a different way" ^{[5, p. 36]}, which introduces him to the discourse of phenomenological research. The results of the study were not long in coming at the beginning of systematic jogging: "In the days following the start of my running experiment, I was confused (but not stopped) by muscle pain, blisters, an angry dog, rain and the annoying slowness of those who do not run. As I expected, in the first weeks the world really opened up in a different way, although not in the way I expected" ^{[5, p. 37]}. In the perception of the world by a novice runner, J. Wisniewski identifies two stages. He characterizes the initial stage, based on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, as dualistic, suggesting a rigid distinction between soul and body: the soul longs for running activity, but the body stubbornly (and often unsuccessfully) resists it. Plato's argument in favor of this separation says: one cannot perform two opposite actions at the same time: "How could I think about Aristotle and run at the same time? It seems that if Plato was right, different parts of me had to do two different things: my mind was thinking, and my body was running. But if this were true, then Merleau-Ponty's views would be in serious trouble. M. Merleau-Ponty, after all, argues that we are intelligent bodies; we are not two different things (mind and body) that interact causally in some way. I started to worry about my dissertation, but I kept running" ^{[5, p. 39]}. The novice runner, who carefully comprehends his new mental states, noted that when he thought about the mechanics of running movements and the bodily processes generated by them while running, it was very difficult for him to run. However, with an increase in the number and duration of running sessions, he began to fix that the need for body control arises less and less often, his thoughts no longer focus on movements, time and distance, becoming free, and running becomes much easier. For him, this was a sign of entering the second stage – convergent. Referring again to M. Merleau-Ponty, J. Wisniewski actualizes his idea that our consciousness is more a product of what we do than what we think, i.e., with the improvement of our motor abilities, the perception of the world also changes: "we develop skills by developing our bodies, and these embodied skills allow us to see things that otherwise we would not be able to see" ^{[5, p. 42]}. At the stage of developed running skill, the body ceased to be an obstacle to achieving the goals of the soul, we can say that the tool (body) and the master (soul) synchronized in a developed, optimally performed activity, while not merging into one whole. J. Wisniewski notes that he feels this harmony of soul and body in running only sometimes, because he has not yet achieved running skills: "Although I'm not an advanced runner yet (will the experiment ever end?), I sometimes see glimpses of what it means to be a runner, and those glimpses are longer than before. And what I see in these moments is a world that I did not know before, through a body that I did not have before" ^{[5, p. 43]}. Thus, J. Wisniewski experimentally confirms the idea that a developed, highly automated running action creates its own subject, producing specific structures of consciousness like dynamic meditations and "flow" widely known in sports psychology (which, naturally, have the opposite effect on the body), which is the cultural content of running practices.

    The article by Michelle Maze is devoted to understanding the influence of metaphysical components on running activity ^[15]. To do this, the researcher carries out a thought experiment: she imagines her complete twin in physiological parameters (calling him a "zombie"), completely devoid of phenomenological experience and completely alien to any metaphysics, and raises the question: could this "zombie twin" overcome the marathon distance solely due to his physiology? Reflections on this topic lead to a negative answer, which, according to M. Maze, is important for the development of the philosophy of consciousness in the following aspect: "... are the feelings of joy and pride of a marathon runner when he realizes that he has set a personal record just a matter of neurophysiology or is it something more than brain conditions?" ^{[15, p. 194]}. Note that the imaginary "zombie" copies the marathon runner's body, including the brain, to the nearest molecule, but at the same time is completely devoid of phenomenological experience – a unique character determined by life experience and associated with experienced emotions, feelings and other mental states, sometimes referred to as metaphysical, since "the phenomenal consciousness of a being is something that exists beyond his physical structure" ^{[15, p. 195]}. M. Maze believes that being in the same situation with a creature endowed with a "metaphysical component", his "zombie twin" would behave completely differently, illustrating this difference with running practices. Her position is as follows: "Because phenomenal consciousness has tremendous motivational power, a zombie would not be able to run a marathon. In fact, I think an even stronger statement could be made that zombies are incapable of genuine free will because they lack the necessary passion and motivation" ^{[15, p. 196]}.

M. Maze examines the causal force of phenomenal consciousness using the example of the influence of emotions on marathon runners. It is known that beginners often make a mistake at the initial stage of marathon running, when, under the influence of emotions excited by fans, entourage and rivals, they overcome the first few kilometers much faster than the planned time, which naturally negatively affects further movement along the distance. Often, marathon runners who are already exhausted overcome the last kilometers faster than the average pace, moving along the corridor of actively supporting their spectators and anticipating the imminent joy of liberation from suffering at the finish line. Similarly, runners look for additional motivation if they do not want to go out for a training run: they imagine how energetic and happy they will be after it. One cannot but agree that "action largely depends on will and desire, and what seems pleasant in a physiological and emotional sense strongly affects what we strive for and what we want" ^{[15, p. 199]}. When a marathon runner reaches hypoglycemia at about 30-35 kilometers (a "wall" in the jargon of runners), depriving the brain and muscles of nutrition due to glucose dissolved in the blood, his "zombie" analogue is likely to stop, because the central nervous system will give such an order to the body, and only something can resist this order-that out-of-body, metaphysical, from which, as we remember, the "zombie" is spared.  Moreover, a "zombie" devoid of emotion and sensory experience will not be effective when performing training activities, which many runners perceive as depressingly monotonous or very difficult. Explaining this judgment, M. Maze imagines a situation where her molecular counterpart, who, like the "original", has knee problems, will continue running uphill despite special sensations that will immediately make a person stop who has a memory of the negative consequences that resulted from ignoring them. Thus, phenomenal consciousness saves a person from dangerous and sometimes irreparable situations, and its absence can permanently stop the running activity of a "zombie" acting solely on the basis of brain mechanisms and wearing out its joints. In addition, "a being devoid of passion <...> has no reason to try to become a better runner, set a personal record, or even get off the couch" ^{[15, p. 201]}. The final conclusion of the author of the article is as follows: "Any adequate theory of consciousness should explain the metaphysical and causal relationship between phenomenal consciousness, desire and action. I believe that marathon running, with all its mental and physical demands, is a vivid example of such connections that require further explanation" ^{[15, p. 205]}.

Charles Taliaferro and Rachel Trauber ^[23] use the analysis of running practices to discuss two anthropological models with centuries?old traditions of justification within the framework of philosophical discourse - holism and dualism. The purpose of their research is as follows: "... we will consider the arguments for and against the dualistic view of running and human nature in general. We suggest that although the extreme form of dualism is untenable, it is also untenable to completely ignore the difference between mind and body. Our essay, therefore, is a modest defense of the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition, which asserts that the soul or mind is different from the body. But although they are different, they are deeply intertwined. <...> Our arguments in favor of the position being defended will be partially based on running experience" ^{[23, p. 206]}. The authors understand anthropological dualism as the point of view according to which the mental in a person (desires, thoughts, emotions, etc.) has a different nature in comparison with the physical in a person (the body as a whole and its parts). They use the term "holism" to denote the idea that a person is his body, "from this point of view, the soul is the body" ^{[23, p. 206]}. At the same time, researchers reject the extreme expressions of dualism (the body as a means of movement of the soul) and holism (vulgar materialism), trying to find common ground on the example of running "healthy" versions of these philosophical concepts.

Tsch. Taliaferro and R. Trauber propose to answer the following questions to justify their position: do only legs run or do people as a whole?  What do the audience admire when they watch an excellent runner? It is obvious that they admire the public performance of a holistic person, the visible performance of a perfected running locomotion, a masterful display of skill. Graceful, graceful, economical running is bodily (and only bodily!) the expression of both the physical side of running and the runner's mental states (for example, his knowledge of the theory of optimal running movement), is not available to us in a non-corporeal (in the broad sense of the word) expressed spirit. However, this holistic position does not contradict moderate dualism, which believes that "although there is a genuine difference between the mental and the physical, they can be so connected to each other that they function as a single whole" ^{[23, p. 212]}. The authors consider it obvious that running involves more than muscles, bones, brain, blood, heart and sweat: "in addition to the physical dimensions of running, there is a mental world of intentions, decisions, sensations, plans and so on" ^{[23, p. 213]}. Personal running experience suggests Ch. Taliaferro and R. Trauber argue that, on the one hand, dualism must adapt to the holistic thesis that we are whole beings in any of our actions, and on the other hand, holism needs to pay more attention to subjective (i.e. spiritual) experience. Thus, combining the physical and the mental, they should not be identified: "Running does not make sense if you understand it primarily as mental, but it also does not make sense if you think of it as primarily physical. Pain and arousal have a physiological basis, but this is not the same as physiology; to deal with pain and arousal, we need to go beyond physiology and include psychology. We call this combination of holistic and dualistic understanding holistic dualism" ^{[23, p. 218]}. The authors see the improvement of a person in all spheres of activity, including running, in achieving maximum coordination, harmony of soul and body, mental and physical. The validity of the position of "holistic dualism" is illustrated, according to researchers, by the ability of a runner to focus on his plans and experiences before starting ("being in the spirit"), to achieve a state of "thoughtlessness" in a detached, meditative highly automated running ("being in the body"), as well as purposefully, accentuated to combine spirit and body, for example, as part of the training process when teaching special running exercises: "holism, like dualism, is confirmed by multidimensional mental/physical interaction both in integration and in breakdown" ^{[23, p. 219]}. As a result of his reflections, Ch. Taliaferro and R. Trauber conclude that "holistic dualism makes it possible to understand that in this life we function as an integration of mind and body, and also to understand that Plato in his dialogue about Phaedo may, after all, be right about life and death. It is possible that the death of the body is not necessarily the end of the path for the runner's soul" ^{[23, p. 219]}.

 Running is great!

Christopher Martin ^[14] considers running activity in the aspect of its generation of aesthetic experience. To substantiate his position, he refers to the work of the most prominent representative of pragmatism, John Dewey, "Art as Experience" (1934).  According to D. Dewey, traditional philosophy considers something ideal aesthetically significant, divorced from everyday experience, it is a kind of refuge from the imperfections of the world of everyday life, various flaws and inconsistencies of things and bodies. Dewey explains the separation of the aesthetic from everyday life by the fact that modern society values intellectual activity more than physical labor, which results in a disdainful attitude towards the body. In this context, the aesthetics of running is manifested in the perfect form of the movements of a harmoniously built runner, who thereby turns into a living sculpture. Perhaps some runners are close to this ideal, but does this mean that millions of ordinary people who are passionate about running and far from the described perfections are outside its aesthetic dimension in their running activities? K. Martin believes that D. Dewey would definitely answer no, since he justified the connection between aesthetic and everyday an experience whose component is amateur running. Feelings related to aesthetic arise in a person when he reaches balance, balance, harmonious relationship with the environment: "For Dewey, this struggle to achieve balance between himself and the environment determines the essence of aesthetic experience. Think about the wide range of emotional states we go through when faced with situations in our daily lives, both good and bad. Life experience becomes a source of those expressive and emotional moments that allow us not only to identify, but also to create art" ^{[14, p. 174]}.

In this regard, the aesthetic content of running practices is clarified, which consists in the fact that running (with the exception of the use of running simulators) is the experience of adapting the body to the environment in its broadest sense: the weather, the track, various objects that the runner encounters on his way, etc. K. Martin notes that the relationship between the environment the environment and body when running are more diverse and deeper than in many other activities, which provides it with "intense vitality" as the basis of aesthetic experience, according to D. Dewey. This intensity is due to the constant alternation of "disorder and balance" of relations with the environment, which causes a deep emotional response as the most important condition of the aesthetic. Indeed, running combines moments of comfort when we run through familiar, flat, safe terrain, as if automatically, meditating and "falling out" of reality, and elements of hard work associated, for example, with competitive running, running uphill, running on sand, snow, ice, against a strong wind. At the same time, many other activities do not give us such a complete experience of contact with the world, because they take place in a zone of maximum comfort, they are ergonomic, routine, boring, hence the conclusion that we are separated from the aesthetic by "a modern lifestyle that significantly reduces the practices necessary for the emergence of aesthetic experience" ^{[14, p. 177]}.

To. It is important for Martin to emphasize the active nature of the aesthetic experience of a runner, which is significant for pragmatism, who is not a passive contemplator of beauty, but the creator of his attitude to the world, like an artist creating a picture: an athlete personally organizes his run, emotionally experiences its vicissitudes and reaches an independently established endpoint. Thus, "... the whole being of the runner is involved in the creation of an aesthetic experience" ^{[14, p. 179]}, explicated using the resources of the philosophy of pragmatism.

Martha S. Nussbaum ^[18], reflecting within the framework of analytical philosophy, explores the problem of the relationship between emotions and language using the example of music in the following formulation: can we assume that music expresses emotions by peculiar dynamic and rhythmic means presented outside of linguistic design?  In other words: is it possible to assume that all thoughts (assuming that emotions contain them) exist only in the shells of natural languages? "The real problem here is what I might call linguistic imperialism, which consists in the assumption that all intelligence is inherently linguistic" ^{[18, p. 187]}. This, of course, does not mean that dance, visual arts, music, etc. have a linguistic nature, but it suggests that in order to comprehend them they need to be recoded into signs of natural languages, although this is associated with translation costs. To solve this problem, M. S. Nussbaum turns to personal running experience: "... runners know that not all emotions are verbal or easily voiced. The body has its own ways of perceiving the world, which often take over the language when a person gets into a rhythm. Joy is a way of seeing the world in which the whole body seems to rush forward to what the eyes see as good. An example of longing is the tension of muscles and tendons to achieve the intended goal" ^{[18, p. 188]}. Like bodily fixed running emotions, which cannot be adequately represented in words, bypassing the physical experience of their experience, music also goes beyond verbal fixations: it is hardly possible to retell, for example, the emotions embodied in Bach's symphony. Music is able to convey their subtlest shades and contamination, for which we simply do not have words, just as there are no words to accurately convey the specific states and experiences of a runner, whose experience allows M. S. Nussbaum to resist "linguistic imperialism".

 Who are these people and why are they running somewhere?

Raymond J. van Arragon ^[1] reflects on the differences between a runner (meaning a sports fan who trains a lot and participates in competitions) and a jogger who runs only for health. At the same time, "essential for joggers and runners are their motives, the fundamental reasons why they regularly leave the house and run, and not lie on the couch and watch TV. A runner and a jogger run in pursuit of different goals, and this is what makes them what they are" ^{[1, p. 46]}. The author of the article draws attention to the fact that many runners are condescending towards joggers, considering them to be a "second class" of running enthusiasts, and sees his task in the apology of the latter. To do this, the researcher analyzes the goals, motivations and risks of these two types of running enthusiasts.

Referring to runners, R. J. van Arragon distinguishes between two types of runners, which he calls "prize runners" and "challenge runners".  As the names make clear, the first ones run for the sake of awards, they are motivated "mainly by the temptation of medals, trophies and, possibly, money, as well as the admiration and glory that come with a victory or a high place in the race" ^{[1, p. 47]}. At the same time, many athletes of this type finish running classes when they realize that their hopes for rewards become groundless. This is especially true for young runners who confidently won school competitions, and then, after entering university, realized that they were uncompetitive in the student sports environment. Similarly, university stars turn out to be untenable in races with professionals. "If a person is motivated only by prizes, he can stop running long before his body stops him, and at the same time give up all the other benefits that regular running can give throughout his life" ^{[1, p. 49]}. The author of the article also considers pride as a hidden desire to constantly experience superiority over others and the acceptability of unfair methods of fighting (for example, doping) in order to achieve victory.

The second type of runners ("testers") participates in the competition not for the sake of awards, but for the sake of defeating themselves, their goal is to set a personal record or take a higher place in the overall standings or in their age group than, for example, in the same race last year. "People who don't run tend to look at test runners, especially those who run quite slowly and hard, with a mixture of admiration and bewilderment: admiration because of the amazing self-motivation they demonstrate, and bewilderment because of how much suffering they cause themselves in order to get what seems like such a small reward" ^{[1, p. 48]}. The risks of this type of runner are, firstly, disappointment in oneself in case of failure to achieve rashly set too high goals. It follows that test runners "... need to maintain a difficult balance between their goals: they should be high enough to motivate, but at the same time their height should not be excessive so that these goals are realistic" ^{[1, p. 51]}. Secondly (and this problem is common to both types of runners) – a tendency to overtraining, when highly motivated amateur runners naively assume that there is a direct relationship between the severity of training and running results, thereby going beyond the capabilities of their body and sometimes undermining their health. The third problem is the obsession with running, when a person sacrifices existentially significant components of life, such as family, career or studies.

According to R. J. van Arragon, joggers, unlike runners, "regularly run is motivated by the desire to develop virtuous habits and strengthen their own mental and physical health. And they do this because the health and virtue that running contributes to help them do their job well and benefit those with whom they communicate" ^{[1, p. 53]}. However, this type of running also has problems that are related to incentives. It is much easier to be motivated by specific goals that a runner pursues than by abstract values of health and virtue.  Running in accordance with jogger's values requires developed willpower and strict discipline, which is not available to everyone. No wonder many successful stayers cannot become joggers after completing their sports career, because they do not always share values that correlate with virtue, and also have a poorly developed will to self-determination due to the long-term need to strictly obey the plans of the coach. R. J. van Arragon, as a former athlete, hopes very much that he will eventually succeed To "reforge" oneself on a jogger, considering it a "truly magnificent achievement" ^{[1, p. 55]}, no worse than victories in prestigious races.  The conclusion of the author of the article can be represented by the following maxim: "In short, joggers run because running helps them live a good life, and I can't think of a better reason for running than this" ^{[1, p. 53]}.

Kevin Kinghorn ^[10] wonders what motivates many people to go for an early morning run. The personal problem of the author of the article is that he cannot stand more than a week of such running, while his wife, also a sports fan, does not miss any of them, constantly joking about her husband who often finds "good" reasons not to run in the morning. Thinking about the motivation for morning running led K. Kinghorn to divide runners into three groups: "Firstly, there are people like me who, getting up early in the morning, struggle at every step with the temptation to stop what they are doing and go back to bed. Secondly, there are people like my uncle who wake up and decide whether to run, but once they make their decision, they follow it easily and without hesitation. Thirdly, there are people like my wife, for whom the whole process happens out of habit and without any thought that they may decide not to run that day" ^{[10, p. 82]}. The author of the article believes that from a philosophical point of view, these three types of runners are interesting because they make it possible to realize the difference between spontaneous decisions and deliberate actions.

The first group of runners, to which K. Kinghorn refers himself, he calls "constant fighters" who, before each, even the most insignificant, action, consider all alternatives. The second group is "those who make the only decision": all options are considered only once, just before the action is performed, after which a final decision is formed and all further actions are carried out in its direction, therefore "philosophers analyzing human actions usually call these subsequent steps "deliberate actions"" ^{[10, p. 84]}. The third group of runners are "habit runners" who have long ago come to the idea of systematically running and now do it as if automatically, without making daily decisions whether to run today or not.

Next, K. Kinghorn reflects on the attitudes of consciousness, thanks to which runners are divided into these three groups, paying special attention to the coveted third group, whose representatives run in the morning more often than the other two. How do you get into this third group and thereby avoid the ridicule of your spouse? The first way is through habit, no wonder Aristotle believed that a state of character arises as a result of repeating similar actions: "We become just by doing the right things, restrained by doing moderate things, brave by doing brave things" ^{[10, p. 87]}. For those who do not have the willpower to develop a habit for a long time, there is another way: deep experience. K. Kinghorn gives some examples of such experiences. So, a cardiologist can tell a person that if he does not exercise daily, he will not live more than six months. Or a young man may be so inspired by watching a dramatic race at the Olympic Games that he decides to become an Olympic runner himself someday. However, as a result of his reflections, the author comes to the conclusion that initially deep experiences inevitably lose their sharpness over time, so the Aristotelian way of developing a habit is more reliable. K. Kinghorn concludes his article with a promise: "So today I solemnly declare my decision to join my wife for a morning jog every day! It will immediately become a habit that I'm not even going to give up! (But wish me luck. My wife, who knows me well, is already giggling reading this)" ^{[10, p. 88]}.

 Is our god running?

Jeffrey P. Fry ^[25] begins his essay with these words: "I treat running as a religious practice. At the time of writing this chapter, I had just crossed the threshold of a four-year run without missing a single day" ^{[25, p. 57]}. In this regard, the questions that the author of the study is looking for answers to are clear: "In what sense is it appropriate to talk about religious running? Is running a religion? What are the religious qualities and what is the religious use of running? Finally, can the suffering that often accompanies running indicate an intriguing connection between religion and running?" ^{[25, p. 58]}.

D. P. Fry begins to answer these questions by pointing out the inconsistency of definitions of religion and sports, the lack of their common understanding by the scientific community. In this regard, he suggests highlighting some paradigmatic elements of sport and religion and looking for their structural and functional parallels using the example of the relationship between running and religious activity.

Thus, religious traditions are characterized by rituals, myths and glorification of heroes (including saints) or God (gods). The American philosopher suggests considering running as a sports ritual, which is characterized (especially in the situation of prestigious mass runs) by the same pomp and pomp as festive services in temples, accompanied by traditional actions of runners that have symbolic significance for them (for example, the order of putting on elements of running equipment). Runners have their own mythology (in particular, the alleged obligation of static stretching before running), there are legendary personalities ("heroes") whose achievements seem almost supernatural, there are "shrines" like places of outstanding running victories, and a sports diary can be likened to a liturgical calendar.

The functions of religion are very diverse and range from maintaining order in space to attracting the help of supernatural forces to ensure the protection, success of activities and salvation of the human soul. Religious practice can also cause altered states of consciousness (for example, prayerful ecstasy), thanks to which the believer finds himself outside the time and space of his earthly self. It is obvious that systematic running exercises also make a person more disciplined, which allows him to put things in order in his life, runners are able to fall into a state of dynamic meditation, some stayers talk about insights that visit them only while running, allowing them to find solutions to complex problems. It should not be forgotten that at the first Olympic Games of Antiquity, dedicated to Zeus, running was the only type of competition (i.e. ritual), Japanese "marathon monks" are also known, professing Buddhism and using running to achieve enlightenment through overcoming the suffering generated by long-term running practices for many days (the ritual "senniti kaihoge").

Since ancient times, within the framework of theodicy, religion has sought to justify suffering and give it a sacred positive significance. On the one hand, suffering is a consequence of the fall, it is a punishment (St. Augustine), but on the other hand, it is an opportunity to atone for sin, suffering makes it possible to manifest and develop positive character traits, therefore, suffering can become an occasion for "building the soul" (St. Irenaeus). In sports, suffering is also often evaluated positively, since the phrase is commonplace: "no pain– no result." The connection of running activity with suffering is obvious, it is not for nothing that some trainers, for educational purposes, "prescribe punitive doses of running" ^{[25, p. 67]}. However, for millions of physical activity enthusiasts, running is a voluntary form of suffering that, like religious practices, is used to achieve not only bodily but also spiritual well–being. Runners who understand pain well by personal example become especially responsive to the sufferings of other people, making every effort to alleviate them, for example, in the form of organizing charity races, which, of course, correlates with the charitable activities of religious structures. As a result of his reflections, D. P. Fry comes to the following conclusion: "Thus, even if running is not inherently a religious practice, it can still be filled with religious meaning and goals" ^{[25, p. 68]}.

J. P. Moreland, a philosopher and theologian who had 35 years of amateur running experience at the time of the publication of the collective monograph, devotes his research ^[16] to determining the multi–vector influence of running activity on the spiritual development of a person. In his opinion, the Zeitgeist of the modern West is defined by the struggle of ethical monotheism (primarily Christianity), scientific naturalism and postmodernism.  It is quite natural that, being a Christian theologian, J. P. Moreland has a negative attitude towards the last two directions of philosophical thought, reproaching naturalists for scientism, and postmodernists for extreme relativism, as a result of which "the widespread denial by naturalists and postmodernists of truth and rationality outside the exact sciences deprived many people of hope that it is possible to discover true, rationally based forms of wisdom that will help them in a prosperous life. As a result, people turned to emotions and satisfaction of desires as decisive factors in adopting a worldview and approach to life. This approach to life has created the conditions for the emergence of a new type of personality, which, according to psychologists, is present in American society on the scale of the epidemic. This type of personality is called the empty self" ^{[16, pp. 152-153]}. The author of the article refers to the main features of this personality, firstly, individualism (and often selfishness) and narcissism, and secondly? the constant pursuit of a "feeling of pleasant satisfaction", which is identified with happiness. The connection between these two features is defined as follows: "If happiness is an inner feeling of fun or pleasant satisfaction, and if this is our main goal, then what will people focus their attention on every day? Obviously, only for themselves, which will result in a culture of people who cannot live for something more than they are" ^{[16, p. 154]}. It is within the framework of this understanding of happiness and centering their efforts that many people engage in amateur running, setting goals for maintaining health and sexual attractiveness, that is, satisfying exclusively bodily desires: "it is not by chance that the emergence of an empty self and excessive preoccupation with physical exercise and jogging coincide (according to the time of appearance – S.K.) ^{[16, p. 154]}".

Considering the motivation for running activities discussed above to be a consequence of personality degradation, J. P. Moreland suggests returning to the "classical" definition of happiness: "From the time of Moses, Solomon, the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, the fathers of the Church such as Augustine, through the Reformation and until about the 1700s in Britain, almost everyone agreed that happiness is a life of wisdom and virtue. <...> in order to make progress in happiness, understood in this way, it is necessary to know about the non-empirical nature of values, virtues, teleological goals and the nature of objective knowledge" ^{[16, p. 153]}. Based on personal running experience, the author of the article believes that amateur running can be a way of introducing a person to spiritual disciplines, a means of educating wise and virtuous people. To substantiate his position, J. P. Moreland reveals the meaning of four words that are often found in the Bible: 

- habit: an ingrained tendency to act in a certain way;

- character: the sum of habits, both good and bad;

- body (soma): the physical expression of a person;

- flesh (sarx): sinful tendencies (habits) that inhabit the body and whose nature is opposite to the nature of the Kingdom of God.

In the aspect of amateur running, their application looks like this: "When a person runs, he has a "running character", that is, the sum of useful and harmful habits relevant to running. The "flesh" for jogging is the sum of the bad habits associated with running. Where do these bad habits live? They live as ingrained tendencies in certain parts of the body, in its individual members. The ability to run can be weakened by bad habits in the legs, shoulders or somewhere else" ^{[16, p. 157]}.

To develop a good running character, which will become a stepping stone to a properly understood happiness, it is not enough to read the news from the world of running or listen to motivating running music. A person should provide his body to a trainer or trust exercises from reputable running books in order to use them, based on long-term practices, to eliminate harmful flesh from the runner's body being formed.  "The parallels with achieving success in life should be obvious. When someone presents his body to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), this includes not only a one-time dedication, but also a habitual, repetitive bodily exercise (1 Tim. 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 9:24-7) involving certain parts of the body (Rom. 6:12-13,19), which leads to the destruction of bad habits (Col. 3:5), i.e. the removal of the flesh that is in these parts of the body, and its replacement with righteousness that dwells in the members of the body" ^{[16, p. 158]}.

In this regard, the development of running abilities with the right goal can also become the basis for spiritual improvement. J. P. Moreland draws the following analogy: just as the flesh of jogging lives, for example, in the wrong position of the upper body ("in the shoulders"), so sinful habits often live in certain parts of the body, for example, anger ? in the area of the heart, gossip ? in the area of the tongue and mouth, lust ? in the eyes, etc. And it is necessary to get rid of sinful flesh just as runners do, with the help of long?term spiritual exercises, which include the disciplines of abstinence (solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, sacrifice) and the disciplines of participation (study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, communication, confession, submission). The theologian repeatedly emphasizes the importance of bodily practices for the formation of a good character, since they allow the human soul to subdue the body, overcome its resistance by willpower (in this sense, running acts as an element of the discipline of abstinence), and also contribute to physical strength for a longer and less tedious practice of the disciplines of participation, just as the skill of solitude promotes greater spiritual "effectiveness" of fasting.

The researcher's conclusion is: "There is good and bad news about jogging. As an expression of an empty self, it enslaves people who persist in the wrong approach to life. This is equivalent to running on the spot <...> But as a part of life aimed at achieving virtues, it can become useful for achieving very high goals. I call such a run a run to the right place" ^{[16, p. 160]}.

Running tools: goals and means

Gregory Basham in his article ^[2] correlates with stayer running practices the concept of "Seven components of success", developed by the American philosopher Thomas W. Morris. The peculiarity of the attitude towards T. V. Morris's philosophy is disappointment in its analytical tradition as detached from life and the desire to reveal the practical significance of philosophical knowledge. G. Basham explains the main task of his research: "In this essay, I will explain how Morris's "Seven Basic Principles of Success" can help any runner achieve his physical fitness and competitive goals" ^{[2, p. 22]}.

1. The first principle: a clear understanding of your goal. When running is not enjoyable, for example due to too much fatigue or bad weather, it is the main goal of running activity that motivates and disciplines the athlete, maximizes his potential.

2. The second principle: confidence in the possibility of achieving your goal. The winners in all spheres of life are those who believe in themselves. "How many times have you seen someone fail because they were full of self-doubt? What do they say then? "I knew it"^{[2, p. 24]}. G. Basham gives examples of runners who did not progress in their results only because they considered achieving the next level of running skill impossible for their modest abilities. However, after the coach used various methods of inspiration, convincing them otherwise, the runners achieved high results without changing the training methodology, thereby confirming the maxim of Marcus Aurelius, which says that our life is what our thoughts make it.

3. The third principle: focus on what is needed to achieve the goal. A man who sprays his forces in all directions is like a car that tries to drive in all directions at the same time, eventually not moving from his place. "The cost of losing concentration can be too high, as Australian runner Ron Clark realized at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Clark, who holds the world record in nine distances, was the absolute favorite in the 10,000 meters. Three days before the final, he ran out onto the track to do a light workout. Catching inspiration, he began to run faster and faster <...>, his time at four miles was an unofficial world record. Half a mile later, yielding to the pleas of other Australian runners, Clark slowed down and finished training. However, the damage to himself has already been done. He finished a disappointing third in the final. Loss of concentration meant defeat in the competition for him" ^{[2, p. 25]}.

4. The fourth principle: determination and perseverance to achieve the goal. Perseverance is the main "feature" of an athlete, in the final races of the largest competitions, extra-class athletes run, whose results are on the same level, and in the end the most persistent wins. The history of sports running is full of examples of how stayers who fell or were forced to briefly take a step due to sudden acute pain (not to mention cases of extreme fatigue) found the strength not only to finish the distance, but sometimes to win the competition. At the same time, G. Basham warns against unreasonable persistence, which leads a runner to overtraining in all its variety of negative effects.

5. The fifth principle: emotional support for one's movement towards the goal. G. Hegel wrote that nothing great in the world was accomplished without passion. However, there is a problem of long-term maintenance of this emotional fuse, which is often extinguished by the monotony of running locomotion. G. Basham suggests two ways to resume running enthusiasm: imagining future joy from the achieved result and the excitement of setting higher and higher goals for oneself.

6. The sixth principle: a good character that keeps us on the right path. T. V. Morris noted two important links between virtue and success: first, a good character may not be necessary for utilitarian achievements or success devoid of an ethical component, but it is necessary for T. V. Morris (following Aristotle) calls it "true success", which brings deep satisfaction, includes the maximum use of our potential, promotes health and the manifestation of higher values. Secondly, in most cases, a good character is either necessary or at least useful for achieving long-term success. "Certain qualities of character are absolutely necessary for success in running. Without such virtues as determination, courage, self-discipline, perseverance, reliability, consistency <...>, no one can realize their potential as a runner. Through practice and habit, running can help us develop these virtues" ^{[2, p. 30]}, which will certainly be important for victories in other areas of life. A virtuous person is attractive for his honesty and reliability, he can count on collaborations with other people like him, which is an important condition for a proper lifestyle and life success in general. This ensures a special attitude of society towards people who have proven the strength of their character in honestly overcoming stayer distances.

7. The seventh principle:  having the ability to enjoy the process all the way to the goal. Most runners do not run in order to lose weight, but because they like it, given the endorphins produced by the body during running, otherwise called "happiness hormones". Runners vividly demonstrate the so-called hedonistic paradox, according to which the happiest people are those who do not strive for happiness, making it their goal, but experience happiness as a "by-product" of their usual activities. Indeed, running enthusiasts "... find happiness through sweat, sacrifice and struggle. For most non-runners, this is a complete mystery. A car overtakes a lone jogger on a deserted road?lungs burning, knees aching?and passengers shake their heads. Why would anyone do that, they wonder. The runner, in turn, barely notices the car. For her, reality is this road, this moment, this feeling. Soon she will return to the world of deadlines, piano lessons and endless washing. But at the moment there is nothing but this road, this sense of wholeness, this Zen effortless effort. For her, the journey and the destination merged into one. Happiness is now" ^{[2, p. 32]}. G. Basham ends his article with an example of the successful application of the "Seven Components of Success" in personal experience of marathon running, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the recommendations of T. V. Morris.

Chris Kelly ^[9] makes sense of the phenomenon of running pain, which many people primarily associate with running. The researcher's goal is non–trivial - to substantiate its positive significance for running enthusiasts. The author of the article begins by distinguishing between instrumental and internal values, putting under the first values-means (say, running shoes), and under the second – values-goals (for example, a personal record at a marathon). The most famous theory of inner values is hedonism. "Hedonists claim that only pleasure is inherently good, and only pain is inherently bad. Almost no one hates pleasure; almost no one likes pain. There is no such unanimity regarding most values" ^{[9, p. 92]}. Hedonists believe that you need to do what gives you the most pleasure, avoiding what causes pain and suffering. At the same time, they distinguish between temporary, partial pleasure (for example, intoxication) and long-term pleasure (health).

From the standpoint of hedonism, running associated with physical suffering should be considered as a tool for achieving long-term pleasures. The wise hedonist uses Socratic "art of measurement" to make the right choice. "The art of measurement is the ability to see things according to their real value, regardless of their current visibility. Judging by its appearance, the full Moon in the sky is a much larger object than any of the stars; but astronomers, experts in astronomical measurements, tell us that the Moon is smaller than every star that we can see with the naked eye. The art of measurement. What does a little pain mean if, while enduring it, I live five years longer and get different pleasures for another five years? What is a little pain if I avoid the big pain of a heart attack? What is a little pain now if later I get great pleasure from winning the race? The art of measurement" ^{[9, pp. 93-94]}.

However, often people run not only for the sake of fame or health benefits. For many, the main reason is to enjoy running.  They believe that the resulting pleasure outweighs the running pains. At the same time, it is important to remember that sometimes the pain itself has an instrumental value. "Ask yourself: if running was always an easy activity, would it be just as valuable to you?" ^{[9, p. 95]}. K. Kelly believes that the difficulty of running, the pain it causes are part of its value, because running thereby hardens character, and the very process of this hardening through overcoming pain It's a pleasure. Moreover, sometimes pain can be pleasant and even desirable for a runner, since it indicates the development of his muscular system. Thus, runners, like other athletes, completely change the evolutionary significance of some types of pain: it is not always a sign of a threat to the body, sometimes it is a symptom of its improvement. Thus, Chris Kelly concludes, running associated with physical suffering is quite compatible with hedonism, and the runner's pain in the optics of the "art of measurement" has a positive significance for both the physical and spiritual development of the athlete.

William P. Kabasench ^[7] writes his article as a detailed answer to his friend Franklin's question. The essence of the question is this: would you agree to use erythropoietin (EPO for short, improves oxygen delivery to muscles, thereby increasing endurance, is doping) if it were recognized as legal and safe for health in order to dramatically increase your running results and experience what it is, for example, to run two miles close to the world The record is faster than eight minutes?

To formulate his answer, U. P. Kabasench refers to the ideas of one of the most famous representatives of philosophical communitarianism, A. C. McIntyre, concerning his understanding of practice, as well as internal and external benefits. A. C. McIntyre interprets practice as a complex form of social activity like playing football, drawing or farming. The difficulty here is manifested in a rather long training in these types of activities and endless possibilities for their improvement. Practitioners have external (prestige, money, status – they can be achieved in different practices, they are non-specific) and internal (a peculiar skill for each practice in its implementation, the development of their various abilities within its framework) benefits: "The difference between those who run just for money and those who run for the pleasure of achieving a PR (personal record) illustrates the difference McIntyre mentions" ^{[7, p. 106]}. At the same time, internal goods are divided into "products" (tangible or intangible artifacts as a result of the use of skill, for example, a portrait, music performance or a record) and a "lifestyle" ? i.e., a person's change under the influence of these practices. A. C. McIntyre draws attention to the fact that external goods are scarce and become objects of competition, unlike internal ones, which can be shared by all participants in a particular practice. For example, there can only be one winner with a world record in a race, and all those involved in running can share the joy of their achievement, besides many people can set personal records in the same competition.

U. P. Kabasench believes that competitive running (i.e., running carried out by social institutions according to certain rules and regulations, as well as requiring quite a long preparation) may well be considered a social practice capable of providing a runner with all kinds of previously mentioned benefits. Returning to the question of his friend, the author of the article notes that he can get the inner benefits desired for him from running, regardless of how long he runs two miles, provided maximum self-realization. It is obvious that the use of EPO is aimed at achieving external benefits. U. P. Kabasench believes that a victory using doping closes the runner's path to internal benefits, and in the case of fraud it deprives external benefits, especially since disqualifications and scandals about this have already become an integral part of professional sports. 

Let's clarify the initial part of this judgment. The first type of internal goods – the "product" of activity (in our case, the result of a race) – will not be a full manifestation of skill as a high–level realization of one's abilities, since they were clearly not enough to achieve this result. The second type of internal benefits – the formation of personal characteristics of a runner – also refuses to be questioned: runners value the result in competitions, considering it as a result of long and hard work in training, which hardens their character as a whole: "They know that the ability to cope with pain and adversity in training will teach them to cope with them in a broader sense scale when they try to move faster than ever before. It seems to be an important component of the formation of a runner as a personality" ^{[7, p. 111]}. Also, competitive running allows you to determine the limits of your body (which is an element of self-knowledge) and adjust the work on their expansion. It is clear that any doping blocks the acquisition of these benefits.

But what about professional runners, often motivated solely by external benefits, who are able to go all out for money and fame? U. P. Kabasench writes about it this way: "... if they could be reminded of what prompted them to start running ? provided that they did not start solely with the hope of becoming successful and, therefore, rich ? and this pleasure is an internal benefit associated with improving themselves in the running field, perhaps they could be persuaded not to cheat. They should convincingly show that only the internal benefits provided by running justify the efforts expended" ^{[7, pp. 111-112]}.

 Forward to nature, or the Topology of running

Douglas R. Hochstetler ^[26] devotes his research to comparing the experience of running indoors using a cardio machine ("treadmill", treadmill) and "regular" running in such locations as a stadium, street, park, mountainous area, etc. The author of the article formulates the problem of his research as follows: "Movement has the potential to form our life by means beyond the physiological ones. Our daily actions, even seemingly insignificant ones, have a serious impact on the way we live and perceive the world. <...> Someone who runs constantly and with full dedication begins to define himself as a runner. What happens if we start defining ourselves as a "treadmill runner"? Can running on a treadmill be considered as significant for personality formation as "regular" running? ^{[26, p. 140]}.

Turning to the philosophical tradition, D. R. Hochstetler actualizes the ideas of G. D. Thoreau and W. James, who reflected on his own experience of comprehending the influence of place on the way of life and the formation of its goals and meanings: if G. D. Thoreau needed peace and solitude for successful work and an optimistic outlook, which he achieved by building a tiny hut for himself next to the lake, then U. For James, for creativity and a sense of the fullness of his existence, it was important to be involved in the impetuosity, excitement, struggle, risk and danger of life that he found on the central streets of the metropolis. Thus, "the pursuit of meaningful life requires a deliberate choice of locations, as both Thoreau and James suggested. This applies to movement and, of course, to the places where we run" ^{[26, p. 142]}.

The author clarifies the advantages and disadvantages of running using a simulator, referring to the first comfort as independence from the weather and street interference; safety, which is especially important for women; saving time due to the fact that you can run at home and not get anywhere; the ability to clearly set running parameters (speed and distance) and completely focus on locomotion without being distracted by external stimuli. Paying tribute to the advantages of the treadmill, D. R. Hochstetler notes: "Indeed, there are people who, if they did not have sports equipment, would not move at all ? at least in the aerobic sense" ^{[26, p. 139]}.

However, the author's greater attention is attracted by the experience of a runner moving without using a simulator. First of all, it is an aesthetically complex experience that includes elements of spontaneity and play, confrontation with natural phenomena, adaptation to different types of surfaces, communication with other runners or just people you meet, there is some risk in it ? and all this, of course, finds an emotional response, generating a sense of pleasure from running. Natural running develops a sensory experience: "Even a five?mile lap race changes every day throughout the year in terms of the landscape - with variations throughout the season ? which encourages observation. Quite often, these variations are imperceptible and slow, and a large number of perceptual skills are required to detect them" ^{[26, p. 146]}, this type of running promotes self–knowledge and comprehension of the world based on the analysis of remembered running events - and what can you remember while running on a simulator? Based on examples from his life, D. R. Hochstetler notes that the completeness of the "natural" running experience develops faster and more firmly establishes those personal qualities that a person would like to form with the help of running practices. By its unpredictability, ordinary running gives us a chance to do something heroic, or it can create a situation that will significantly change our lives: "Running allows us to rediscover what we knew as children: being safe all the time is not very interesting. There are no airbags in our running shorts. We are vulnerable to the whim of fate and the blindness of fortune. But we are not hostages of fear. We boldly go to where we know we should be. Fun on the edge of the unknown" ^{[26, p. 149]}.

Summing up his thoughts, the author of the article writes that running on a simulator reduces this practice exclusively to an instrumental function (for example, weight loss), but for enthusiastic runners, running activity itself is valuable because it opens up for them the fullness of life, manifested in the freedom provided by running: "running in the fresh air gives me the opportunity to be the person I want to be ? independent, free to move and make decisions on my own about the direction of my path (and not just about speed or inclination) ? and this is the best place to run" ^{[26, p. 149]}.

Conclusion

The "telocentrism" of modern culture finds its vivid expression in the mass fascination with stayer running, the comprehension of the humanistic potential of which is an urgent philosophical task. The reviewed collective monograph "Running and philosophy. Marathon for the Mind" is a unique publication because it includes works prepared by American philosophers who are passionate about running, proving that running is not only a type of physical activity, but also an environment of fruitful reflection.

Thus, S. Kay running is understood as one of the significant factors of anthropogenesis, a way to achieve a happy life based on the release of the "inner hunter", whose oppression within the framework of the ideology of sedentarism generates pathological physiological and psychological states. 

An appeal to ancient philosophy made it possible to clarify the origins of the peculiar apathy of fans of "hash" racing (p. Dewitt), as well as to substantiate the importance of running together for the formation of the highest kind of friendship described by Aristotle (M. V. Austin).

Steyer running is considered by R. A. Belliotti through the prism of F. Nietzsche's philosophy as a way of forming "superhuman" features directed to his ideal and gaining power over himself, which contrasts the runner with the "last man", embodying the philistinism of the "inner dwarf".

H. L. Reed and R. S. Reed consider running practices as ways to achieve the values of existentialism (freedom, authenticity, truth, play), referring to the legacy of S. Kierkegaard, M. Heidegger and J.-P. Sartre.

Within the framework of solving the problems of anthropological dualism, J. J. Wisniewski, M. Maze, C. Taliaferro and R. Trauber turn to running activity. Their common belief, supported by running experiments, is the justification of the convergence of body and consciousness in the activity of an athlete, which generates a specific subject and provides the cultural content of running as a social practice.

To. Martin and M. S. Nussbaum consider running activity in the aspect of its generation of aesthetic experience associated with the special completeness and saturation of bodily and spiritual experiences of the world when running, which do not always find adequate verbal expression. At the same time, the authors appeal to both the philosophy of pragmatism and the analytical tradition.

R. J. van Arragon and K. Kinghorn reflect on the typology of runners in terms of their motivation, coming to the conclusion that the best motivation for running, developed by the long-term habit of amateur joggers, is not prizes and personal records, but improving the quality of their lives, realizing their bodily and spiritual potential. 

D. P. Fry and J. P. Moreland explore the connection between running and religious practices, believing that for many faithful stayers, running is filled with religious meaning and goals. Religious discourse allows us to consider running as a type of "abstinence disciplines" used by Christians, contributing to spiritual and physical strength for a longer and less tedious practice of "participation disciplines".

G. Basham, K. Kelly and U. P. Kabasench devoted their works to the analysis of the correlation of goals and means of running activity. It should be noted that all these researchers consider amateur running to be a means of achieving primarily internal benefits, which leads to a positive assessment by researchers of the suffering and pain of runners as a means of character formation, as well as the unacceptability of dishonest ways to achieve running results, leveling the internal benefits of running.

D. R. Hochstetler dedicates his research to comparing the experience of running indoors using a cardio machine ("treadmill") and regular running outdoors. In his conclusions, he points out that natural running gives us a more meaningful experience for life, consisting in aesthetic complexity, greater unpredictability and maximum freedom of a running person.

Summarizing the results of the review, we note that the professional study of the socio-cultural determination of homo currens activity by the authors of the collective monograph "Running and Philosophy. Marathon for the mind" is effectively combined by them with the analysis of personal experience of participating in stayer races and other running practices, which ensures the confessional and emotionality of the presentation, as well as the existential validity and practical confirmation of the author's conclusions. It can be assumed that the content of this monograph covers the main thematic repertoire and represents the research techniques of the philosophy of running that has been forming since the second half of the twentieth century to the present day.