Why Do You Run?

Today is National Running Day, a day to declare one’s “passion for running”. At first glance, I thought that it must be yet another Hallmark Day. There seems to be a day for everything now.

But then I started to think about it. You could pull 10 people off the Town Lake Trail, and you would probably get quite a number of different responses. I am sure you would hear people speak of fitness, weight loss, and perhaps even stress relief. Those all sound like pretty admirable reasons to run, right? Those are all good reasons to have a passion for running, yes?

So I asked myself the same question: “why do I run?”. In a moment of Zen, I found my answer.

“Because I can”.

It really is that simple anymore.

There was a time when I couldn’t – or was advised not to do so. I can’t say that it was my preferred exercise in my youth – cycling used to occupy that role quite nicely. But when running is deemed a bad thing, hazardous to your orthopedic existence, you tend to look at it a little differently for starters.

Fear.

But over time – and with a lot of research – I came to the conclusion that perhaps many of those things I had been told about running might not be correct. I worked with injured runners, and guided their return to that passion. Along the way, I began coaching runners, keeping them injury-free and training optimally. Then I decided to create a plan for myself to do so safely.

Success.

And thus I discovered the beauty of running. Now, the passion of running for me – the answer to “why do I run” – is because I can. Running is an activity that comes to all of us naturally. It is simply one foot in front of the other, over and over again. It affords us freedom. If we run on the trail or greenbelt, it allows us to interact with nature. Its sheer simplicity affords us the opportunity to learn great things about ourselves.

Enlightenment.

Running provides the opportunity to get away from the noise around and within me. I rarely, if ever, run with headphones. I wouldn’t want to miss one of those opportune moments when enlightenment and insight smile upon me. Running can be peace and silence in a far-too-noisy world.

Every time I stand at the start line of an event, be it a 5K or half marathon, I take a brief moment to be thankful for having the capacity to be able to run. I am grateful to have discovered it, and not a moment too soon.

I run … because I can.

So tell me – why do you run?

Photo credits: TerryJohnston