Flow, spirituality, and long-distance running. When heaven is under your feet.

The flow concept developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is well-established and applied in the field of sports, especially in sports psychology. Relating to previous studies of the relationship between flow and spirituality in sports, this paper explores experiences of spirituality in long-distance running by taking advantage of the concept of flow. The paper’s particular take is to bring this concept into dialogue with the notion of resonance, developed by sociologist Hartmut Rosa, thereby establishing a theoretical framework for analyzing spirituality in running. More precisely, the paper presents a study that analyzes written autobiographical narratives of long-distance runners. In these narratives, flow experiences are identified primarily in the subject’s resonant relationship to nature, the body, and the self. It is also argued that the concept of resonance proves helpful for a deeper understanding of spiritual flow experiences in long-distance running.