This presentation was originally prepared by Teacher Lin (Lin Weixiang), but on the day, Feng Bo delivered it on his behalf.

Teacher Lin is a student majoring in Sports Health and Communication at the Beijing Normal University–Hong Kong Baptist University Joint Faculty, as well as a national Level 2 track and field athlete, a Class D and Class E coach certified by the Chinese Athletics Association, and a national Level 2 and Level 3 swimming referee, in Sanya No. 1 Middle School During his internship, he taught high school physical education and coached the track and field team at Sanya College, where he helped set two school records and win four championships. The insights he shares aren’t copied from textbooks; they come from his own experience running and teaching.

On the last slide of the PPT, Teacher Lin left an invitation — he is organizing a Running training group, every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:15 p.m., school sports field. You decide how many laps to run each time—no need to compare yourself to others. Before the run, a coach leads a warm-up, and after finishing, there’s time for everyone to encourage one another. Students and teachers who are interested are all welcome to join.

When running, the body “turns against itself.”

Speaker: Feng Bo

Regarding running, Feng Bo also added some insights, saying that running can actually be divided into two stages.

In the first stage, the body resists. Right after you start running, your body treats it as a stressor: the adrenal glands release adrenaline and noradrenaline, your heart rate rises, and glycogen and fat are mobilized for energy. At the same time, metabolic byproducts accumulate and blood sugar is consumed, sending just one signal to your brain: “I’m tired—stop.” That’s why the resistance, fatigue, and urge to give up in those first few minutes aren’t just emotional—they’re entirely genuine physiological responses.

In the second stage, the body “turns against itself.” As long as you keep running at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity and ignore those “stop” signals, your body will activate another system—endogenous cannabinoids. These compounds produce euphoria, reduce anxiety, and relieve pain, and they can cross the blood–brain barrier, making them the most well-supported explanation. The so‑called “runner’s high,” often attributed to endorphins in the past, has been specifically clarified by Feng Bo: while endorphin levels do rise two to fivefold during exercise, they have difficulty entering the brain, and their effect on mood remains controversial. The true mediators are endogenous cannabinoids; experiments have shown that blocking cannabinoid receptors eliminates the anxiolytic and analgesic benefits of exercise.

So the best thing about running is that, At the start, your body is pushing back against you; after you reach a certain point, your body begins to support you instead. The pain has lessened, the anxiety has eased, and a sense of pleasure is emerging.

So, does “telling yourself you can” work? Feng Bo says it does, but only to a limited extent—psychological self‑suggestion helps you get through the initial stress phase, buying time while your endocannabinoid system becomes fully activated. The real reward comes from the evolutionary mechanisms hardwired into your body. In short, psychological suggestion buys time, and physiological processes deliver the reward.

Changing the subject, he turned to life. He calls it “lying flat” when the body receives no stimulation for an extended period. Lying flat is not the same as rest. When a person lacks stimulation over the long term, the reward system remains inactive, leading to insufficient secretion of dopamine and endogenous cannabinoids. The body enters a low-arousal state, resulting in low mood and a lack of motivation—physiologically, this condition closely resembles depression. What life calls for isn’t lying flat—it’s a healthy dose of excitement.

He again used games as an example. Game design features instant feedback, immediate rewards, and rapid dopamine release; the circuitry is so fast that the brain quickly becomes accustomed to “instant gratification.” The consequences are threefold: an inability to sit still, making low-stimulation activities hard to tolerate; an inability to persevere, rendering tasks that require delayed gratification especially painful; and a raised reward threshold, so that ordinary real-world rewards lose their appeal. In the long run, what you lose isn’t time; it’s in Slow return circuit The capabilities accumulated over time.

The hardship of running lies in the discomfort at first; only by pushing through does one reap the reward. The hardship of growth involves delayed gratification, perseverance, and the gradual accumulation of skills, ultimately leading to a genuine sense of accomplishment. Games have the advantage of skipping the struggle and delivering instant pleasure, but unfortunately, that pleasure leaves you empty, with no real improvement in ability. Feng Bo distilled this idea into a single sentence: The fast pathway gives you pleasure; the slow pathway gives you life.

After finishing their remarks, Feng Bo and Teacher Peter presented awards to four students who had consistently exercised throughout the semester. They were: Li Haoxuan (Lucas), Chen Feixi ( Fisher ) Ren Zhonghao (Jason) and Lin Qiuyu (Kevin). After the awards were presented, the four students each shared how sports have changed their lives. They had probably all gone through that toughest phase: heavy legs, shortness of breath, and repeatedly convincing themselves to give up. They also know what it feels like to push through and keep going.

There aren’t many moments on the track worth bragging about. Most of the time it’s just lap after lap, the weather a bit hot, and your shoes feeling heavy. But at some point, your body will quietly side with you. Anyone who’s run knows exactly what that feels like.