Why Running?

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first - fitness does not equal athleticism. Someone who is fit does not mean that they’re great at throwing a ball.

Running, in my opinion, was the simplest of my choices.

Note that I said “simplest”. I would never ever say that running was simple. While the barrier to entry could just be a pair of running shoes, in the end, if you want to get serious about it then there is a lot to running that makes it far from being simple.

I actually ran cross country in high school so this contributed to my decision (some may say delusion) to try and challenge myself with running again. I mean, how hard could it be? Hard… really really hard (and pretty ugly too).

Yeah you read that right; 12:37 mile. I’m pretty sure there are many people out there that could walk that pace... on their hands... 

My chest was burning, my stomach had cramps, and I stopped several times. But I finished.

1 mile done.

I wish I could say it got easier the next day but it didn’t. It took a while but eventually did get easier. The more I ran, the easier it got and eventually it got to the point where I know I had to upgrade my gear and, while runnings shoes aren’t cheap exactly, it’s still cheaper than the other things I could have decided to challenge myself with..

So, why running? Because in the end, it’s just me and the road. I can listen to music or just be lost in my thoughts. It gives me an escape from my hectic life.

I think we all need something like that in our lives.