ADHD In Running and Athletics
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) is a topic that is being discussed more and more in the running world, and research suggests it might be a lot more common than previously thought. For years, ADHD was not discussed in athletics and was often thought of as something that primarily affected males. But research shows that more women are being diagnosed with ADHD later in life after years of living undiagnosed.
In the sport realm, ADHD medication is sometimes used to help with focus and performance. On a personal level, I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 10 years old and I have found that one of the most effective tools, in conjunction with medication, has been my pursuit of sport, with endurance sports being particularly helpful. Let’s dive into this more.
What is ADHD
ADD/ADHD is a common, often lifelong neurodevelopment disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It can cause a person to have difficulty focusing and managing time. It impacts executive function, schoolwork, and daily life. Symptoms include trouble focusing, being easily distracted and constantly forgetting things. Hyperactivity shows up in constant movement, fidgeting, restlessness and excessive talking. Individuals with ADHD are also often extremely impulsive.
Unfortunately, ADHD behaviors are regularly misunderstood as laziness, lack of motivation or failure to follow the rules. In reality, many people with ADHD aren’t choosing these patterns, they’re struggling with how their brain functions. With the right support, including medication, therapy, coaching, and education, many see significant improvements.
ADHD Super Powers
While dialogue around ADHD frequently comes with negative connotations, it can actually have huge advantages, or “superpowers” that are rarely talked about, especially for athletes. Research from the Rowan Center for Behavioral Medicine suggests that ADHD athletes have an increased ability to hyperfocus. When an ADHD athlete is locked in, attention narrows like a spotlight, shutting out everything else. This is where an athlete can enter what’s best described as a flow state, and that’s a powerful performance zone for an athlete. For athletes with ADHD, hyperfocus is not a flaw but a tool, one that, in the right setting, can fuel extraordinary performance.
Another misunderstood advantage of ADHD is impulsivity. Usually impulsivity gets a bad rap, but in an athlete it can translate to lightning-fast instincts. ADHD athletes can often make split-second decisions that can be the difference between success and failure in the moments when it matters most. ADHD athletes also commonly have boundless energy, which shows up as a high-performance engine built for sustained physical output. ADHD brains crave stimulation, and physical activity provides a direct channel to satisfy that; the playing field becomes the place where bodies and minds finally align.
When it comes to running, a study published earlier this year surveyed 600 runners and roughly 9.7% scored in a range consistent with ADHD traits. The study found no significant differences between genders or between elite and non-elite athletes. This study was groundbreaking in our understanding of ADHD in the running population. It was one of the first to provide ADHD data on endurance runners and ultra endurance runners. It gives great evidence to suggest that runners may fall on the higher end of ADHD prevalence in sport, although more research is certainly needed before we can say so definitively.
Major League Baseball and ADHD
Outside of running, baseball is another sport that sees high ADHD statistics. The MLB reported that 8.4% of players received a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) during the 2017-18 season for the administration of adderall. Assuming that not all players use medication to manage their symptoms, true prevalence of ADHD in baseball is likely even higher. This makes sense given the demands of the sport. Baseball requires intense focus and split second reactions; hitters have just about 0.4 seconds to respond to a 100 mph fastball, so managing attention effectively (via medication) can play a critical role in performance.
Women and ADHD in Running
More women are being diagnosed with ADHD in modern times, and one super interesting finding is that it often presents differently in girls and women than in boys and men. Most common symptoms among females include struggles with time management, being hyperverbal and daydreaming, while males show more hyperactive symptoms. Diagnoses for female patients are often delayed and go undiagnosed much longer than their male counterparts.
Professional female runners Molly Seidel and Phily Bowden have recently spoken publicly about their own struggles with ADHD. Seidel describes her experience as a mental edge over her competitors. She says that when she’s training she is able to lock in for miles and miles, and calls her ADHD a special kind of superpower. Phily Bowden openly spoke about an ADHD epiphany that occurred after an injury she sustained at the age of 30. In the void of training, she realized that she had been managing her undiagnosed ADHD with running for nearly 16 years. When running was taken away, she suddenly was less able to manage the rest of her life. She spoke openly about feelings of frustration and shame during that period, wherein she faced challenges with emotional regulation, maintaining her home, and completing everyday tasks. Through diagnosis, she came to understand that her experiences were not a personal failing, but rather the result of a brain that just works a little differently.
As research on ADHD continues to grow and public conversations become more open, it is likely that more women will recognize similar patterns in their own experiences and seek evaluation, particularly those who have not previously connected their symptoms to ADHD.
My ADHD Story
My personal story echoes that of Bowden’s. As a young child, around age 10, I was diagnosed with ADHD and it was very impactful to my life. I struggled in school, had a hard time staying calm, and often couldn’t focus when I needed to. I started to take medication at a young age and although it helped, I often didn’t feel like myself. I found myself stuck in a chronic struggle to focus on harder assignments, particularly where reading was involved. I eventually figured out that sports made me feel alive and somehow alleviated a lot of those internal battles, and so I leaned into them. I was able to lock in in a way that I couldn’t outside of sport, and I felt like I had an unlimited supply of energy, and that felt magical.
I found running at age 14 and that’s where it all really clicked. I was able to manage a lot of my ADHD symptoms through running. I began to do much better in school and was able to focus more in my life, and I also had an outlet that helped me manage my symptoms. When I stopped running in my 20s, I remember feeling the most like I did in my childhood with ADHD. It wasn’t until I started again at age 29 that I felt that same sense of calm return to the rest of my life. It took me a while to recognize the connection between endurance sports and their ability to help me manage so many of my ADHD symptoms.
One thing is clear, there is a strong connection between ADHD and running. There is growing evidence suggesting higher rates of ADHD traits in endurance athletes, and given the “superpowers” outlined above, it’s not hard to see why.
As a child, I personally felt like ADHD was a limitation that held me back. But in sport, and especially after finding running, I learned to manage my symptoms in a way that often didn’t require medication. Over time, it started to feel like ADHD wasn’t something working against me, but something that helped me excel in ways I couldn’t otherwise.
How ADHD presents itself in Men and Women Differently
As more research highlights how ADHD presents in women, I think many will feel validated in behaviors that were previously overlooked or labeled negatively. For boys growing up, it was often more readily recognized as hyperactivity or ADHD and more openly accepted. For many girls and women, however, those same traits were often internalized as anxiety, disorganization, or simply “trying harder” without ever getting to the root cause.
As awareness continues to grow, the hope is that diagnosis will come earlier, support will become more tailored, and fewer people will spend years feeling misunderstood. At the same time, the way people talk about ADHD in sport and running is changing, too. It’s moving away from focusing only on the challenges and roadblocks of the disorder, and toward a better understanding of how different brains can succeed in different settings.
ADHD and Me
For me, running has never just been about performance. It has been one of the most consistent tools I have found for managing my ADHD and feeling grounded in my own mind and body. And while it doesn’t “fix” me, it gives me space to function to the best of my ability. Ultimately, ADHD is not a one size fits all experience, and neither is running. But for many, including myself, the intersection of the two offers something powerful; freedom, structure, and a sense of control in a brain that often feels wildly unpredictable.
If you feel some of these are you and you want some structure in your life and training check out our training plan quiz to find a downloadable training plan perfect to support your running with the structure you deserve!
About the Author: Nick Klastava is the CEO and current manager of Running Explained. A lifelong runner Nick got his start in high school and ran collegiately at Monmouth University before taking a break and coming back to running when he moved from NJ to Maryland. He has continued ever since running 11 marathons now and many other races chasing PR's he once believed were impossible.
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