Running is a gift to me. I started running at the age of 29 in preparation for turning 30, approaching the end of my doctoral journey having received negative feedback on my first round of exams. I was questioning everything. After a life of not connecting with my athletic self. At all. Ever. I joined a team and started training for a marathon. My journey to running has been rife with the lack of desire to run, the belief that I could not run, and the pain of starting to run. In the years since I started running, many years ago, there have been peaks and valleys, successes and failures, and stops and starts. Through it all, running has been a gift. Personal bests. Personal worsts. The sunshine. The rain. The cuss words. The sore feet. The tears. The smiles. The sunrises. The birds. The dolphins. The leaves. The roses. The magnolias. The medals. I hold my head a little higher each time a year passes and I am able to put my shoes on, jump outside, press start on my watch, and get going. I am transported to a powerful place where I am headed in the right direction, in control of a small sliver of a chaotic world, and building strength to meet challenges that come my way. Things make more sense when I run.

What Are The Gifts of Running?

Connection

Running has always allowed me to connect with the outdoors. Hill Country roads in Austin. Rock Creek Park in Washington DC. Riverside trails in Cincinnati. Key Biscayne in Miami. The Beltline in Atlanta. Nature has been the through line of what has brought me pure joy over the years. When other aspects of my life have left me tied to a computer, desk, and chair, running has set me free to be connected to the natural world. When I have been forced to train on a treadmill, returning to the outdoors makes running something I want to do rather than have to do.

Steel

Running makes me feel like steel. It makes me carry my head a little higher. It makes my back a little straighter. My life in general more manageable. My goals more attainable. Each starting line is a personal statement that I am a person who shows up. Each finish line is a personal statement that I am a person who finishes.

Shoes

When I feel down. The shoes are always there. When I need to breathe fresh air and sunshine. The shoes are always there. When there is a problem that needs sorting out through the rhythm of the road. The shoes are always there. When I am feeling great and want to celebrate. The shoes are always there. I have often heard it said that putting on your shoes is the hardest part. I believe that to be true. Consistency and discipline are the gifts of shoes. I can always hit the road.

Pace

Distance running has taught me the value of pacing and preparation. Because I have never been fast at anything, especially running, I have had to focus on the endurance piece of the running equation. In a half marathon, I don’t run as fast as I can in the first 5k. I have learned how to spread my energy out over the entire race. I have also learned that training and preparation prior to the race makes finishing strong possible. Having raced both well trained and not well trained, the value of training and knowing (and honoring) your pace is important.

Love

Loving to run has been a huge surprise. I would not have predicted it while I was growing up. At some point, after I started to run, I started to take stock of the things that make me feel good, the things that made me feel powerful, the things that quieted my mind, and the things that brought me peace. I came to running at a time of intense questions and found answers. Everything I need is in me. Running taught me that. Because I love running, even when I don’t want to do it, I always come back to it. In that way, running is a constant. Running is a gift.