I think this thread is suggesting that it’s entirely subjective. Some people are saying it’s only when you reach X amount of fitness, others are saying it never becomes enjoyable…meanwhile I have loved running since I was a young child. It is always difficult if you’re pushing yourself, but that is part of the enjoyment for me. I love the physical suffering and the mental challenge that comes with learning to re-focus and endure it.

You mean during the run?

A “runners high” is when you run so long, that your body just stops fighting it figuring you have a good reason to be running. So it dumps endorphins and suddenly running is a blast.

Not everyone gets that though. And it may not be what you’re asking about.

For other people, they never enjoy running, they enjoy the results of running.

20 minutes isn’t going to get you a runners high. But it will have noticable health improvements during the rest of the time.

Don’t expect running to become an enjoyable hobby, it’s maintenance that you’re putting in now, and you’ll get the results later.

The people who actually do enjoy it, run ridiculous distance, you may get there some day if you want, and what you’re doing is productive and worth the effort. But don’t expect to start enjoying it unless you keep building up distance till you’re talking about marathons. It takes a very long time before a runners high is possible.

Running never stops sucking. If you train at it, you can go faster, but the actual running pretty much always feels the same.

What does happen is that is that you may find your aerobic base pace some time after starting. Many novice runners have trouble hitting a maintainable aerobic pace because for them it falls into a mechanical dead zone between running and walking. So they end up making every run into a tempo run

So if you want to feel better while running, slow down. Make it a contest to see how slow you can run. Don’t be afraid to run-walk if you have to.

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/unhappy

I’m a MTBer, not a runner, but this comic has always stuck with me. Is it always fun? Hell no. Do I get an immense amount of satisfaction doing it? Absolutely

For me, it never stopped sucking. I ran for years because I had a good group to run with, but I always hated the running part. Still do. So I don’t run anymore. But I absolutely love to ride a bike! Rowing and xc skiing are really enjoyable for me too. Try finding something you like more!

Slowing down

Establish whether you’re more a treadmill + space, treadmill + distraction, or trail runner (I can run twice as much on trails than pavement, and on pavement double what I’d do on a treadmill, because I just get bored with the latter two. I benefit from the challenge of variety of landscape and terrain).

Question whether “you” don’t like running or it’s your system understandably resisting exertion. This is the will power aspect. Talk to the resistance, be friendly to it, cajole it, but clear that you’ll be finishing the run.

I benefit from toggling my awareness around. e.g. from my core to my feet, to my breath and my gaze. Keeping my mind busy with that helps distract that resistance.

Give it at least 20 minutes for the groove to kick in. Running really only starts then. Many people keep themselves always in the less fun part

Switch to HIIT running routines. Less time, generally more benefits. So miserable but brief that you don’t have time to process it!

One thing that made me forget about the bad aspects of running is running on a treadmill while watching action movies. The increased heart rate works great for both of those, and having the treadmill to keep my pace steady allowed me to run farther than I had in other situations like running outside or running while listening to audiobooks.

Also, running in nature is more enjoyable than running around the parking lot or whatever.

Some people never enjoy running though, and just tolerate it for its benefits. Maybe that’s you?

I find running on streets generally sucks, but running in nature is fun.

I didn’t enjoy running until I worked myself up to doing longer distances, like 8k+ runs - before then it was a painful chore I felt obligated to do, now I go stir crazy if I don’t get out for a run at least twice a week.

That being said, even now, runs are a slog until I get into my groove, which happens around the ~3k or 15-20 minute mark, but once I get there I’m happy to keep going for another 10-20k

You mention going by time and not distance - I assume you are on a treadmill? Personally I can’t stand treadmills, it’s monotonous, and there isn’t as much air movement around you, so it’s harder to thermoregulate.

What do you hate specifically – e.g. exercising in general, getting hot and sweaty, foot/leg/joint pain, your location or route, having to be alone with your thoughts for a while, etc? I’ve been running for nearly 3 decades now (yikes), and even as a kid I remember the thing that made it “click” with me is the realization that I literally could not be doing anything else at the same time (aside from listening to music, I guess).

I think that unless you are having physical pain (in which case the usual applies - check your shoes, modify your gait, reduce or restructure your runs to be more comfortable), you have to get into the headspace of just mentally doing nothing, which can be hard for some people.

FWIW I don’t know anyone who, in the middle of a 10k run in 90 degree heat with a side stitch says “I feel awesome right now!”, but I do know many, many people who will finish out that run, stop for a moment and then go “ahhhhhhh.”