Red Face after Running

"Hi, I'm Kathy and I've recently signed up for my school's track and field team. Our training requires us to run a distance of 5 miles as part of endurance training activity. I have no difficulties about the running part, except for one. At the end of my run, my face reddens like crazy! It's almost like a bright red cherry! Why is that so?"

"Hello there. My son Jeremy, is 14 and a little overweight for his age. I have noticed that whenever he's back home after his daily game of football, his face is all red. Like a beetroot. Is it due to the extra pounds of weight? Or is there something wrong with him?"

"Hi, I'm Jim and I signed up with my neighborhood gym last week. Every day, I work out with a lot of heavy weights for about an hour. At the end of it, I look into the mirror to see whether my arms have gotten any bigger. But the only thing I end up noticing is my face. It's red. Almost blood red. Like it's about to burst or something. It's scaring me man! Is everything okay with me?"

These were some of the queries that I happened to come across some time ago, when I was casually surfing the Internet for information on running and jogging. I noticed that there was one single common feature among all these queries and stories. It was nothing but the 'red face'. That awoke in me a natural characteristic sense of curiosity. So after doing a bit of research activity about running, training and resultant body metabolism behavior, here is all that I've learned about the phenomenon of developing a red face after running. This is a perfectly normal and common phenomenon, and is nothing to be alarmed or afraid of. There is a proper biological explanation (or in other words, a cause) for this physical condition, and the following paragraph will do the job of educating you about it.

Causes
It goes without saying that when we run or exercise vigorously, our heart rate increases significantly. Our rate of metabolism rises, and a lot of internal body heat is generated. Our body heat is directly proportional to our effort and the intensity of the physical activity. So as you put in mile after mile, or pedal away faster and faster, your body starts heating up from inside. Now it is important for the body to get rid of this heat and regulate a normal body temperature from within. This to a large extent, happens through the process of sweating. In addition to sweating, what our body does, is circulate the warm blood closer to the surface of the skin, so that the internal body heat can be radiated outside. Due to this, a large amount of blood collects near the face (in addition to a few other parts of the body). But since the face tissue has a lot of capillaries which are superficial (i.e. located close to the surface of the skin), the sudden arrival (and the collection) of this increased amount of blood is much more visible and noticeable (as compared to other parts of the skin). This is the one and only reason as to why you are left with a bright red face after heavy exercise.

This was a short explanation as to why people end up with a red face post a heavy workout. The relief from the same is a matter of miniscule importance, simply because the redness will go away on its own, as and when the body cools down. Ciao!