Why I Run

I started running to connect with my father. . .

As a young child I was thrilled to slip on my silky pin striped athletic shorts in an effort to share in my father’s passion for running. In my 4yr old mind it all started with wardrobe, right? Dad would humor me, having me tag along for his cool down from time to time. As the years rolled on I would eventually accompany him during recovery runs as he made his comeback to marathoning post motorcycle accident. Still just a kid, I relished any opportunity to out-run my dad for a change, and he thrived in his recovery with his competitive spirit driving him along. I never became the athlete that my father was, but it never stopped me from trying.

I kept running to connect with new friends. . .

Transitioning from middle school to high school is hard enough without having to worry about losing your bff in the tides of ever shifting alliances. Alas, I was not afforded immunity to inevitable change with the first ripples taking hold the summer before freshman year.  My very best friend had joined a club, and was well on her way to making fast friends with all of the members without me. Interestingly enough I didn’t have time to lament the loss of our bond because in the same breath of her proudly announcing her membership, she told me I was to come out with the team too. In the morning. First thing in the morning. OVER THE SUMMER! She had joined cross country! And apparently, so had I. I never amounted to much of a competitor. I was easily the slowest on the team, but I stuck with it for the season. I made friends with upperclassmen who looked after me once school began. I learned about my own competitive spirit and began the life long endeavor of striving to best myself. I spent my very first moments in weight rooms learning my first lessons in strength training in support of my distance running. 

And again, I ran to stay connected to old friends. . .

Running always kept a place in my identity, even when it wasn’t keeping a very active place in my general routine. My college girlfriends and I registered for our 4th year 5k at my insistence followed by a day-of early morning conference call where we each unanimously decided it was both too early and too cold to participate. My grad school roommate and I decided that we absolutely had to run a marathon, training inadequately and finishing despite being chased several miles by the “stragglers bus.” And finally my favorite memory when I convinced a group of nearly 10 of my closest friends, mostly non-runners, to train and participate in the Army 10-miler. The group included my sister (definitely a non-runner) with my father and his “bionic knee,” in tow for support. The race celebrated my sister’s first, and my father’s last race. With his knee replacement making it difficult to remain competitive the 10 miler marked his slowest race ever, which he will forever attribute to hanging back for my big sis. 

I introduced my partner to running for distance as we furthered our romantic connection. . .

Finding my husband and the honeymoon phase marked a brief interval of running together and a handful of 5ks and 10ks celebrating being young, in love, and hell bent on looking good in our wedding pics.  And the post-partum body that came to pass after love and marriage had its way with me marked a period of working desperately to reconnect with pain-free health and fitness. The casual 3 mile runs I took for granted my whole life suddenly were long term goals when my hips and core betrayed me after carrying two big, healthy babies. 

Today, I find running has finally established itself as a permanent fixture in my life. Once a tool I used to quickly tame my waistline or a casual past time I flirted with for social purposes; running has now become a routine as natural as eating, grooming, and going to work.  Running has remained true from the days of my girlhood, young womanhood, matrimony and now motherhood. It’s my something I can go to to reconnect with what is quintessentially me.  As I trained in preparation for my first half marathon I recognized that I did so for me, for my children (who cheered me on for my first race as a mother), for my husband (who encouraged me everyday) for my friends (those same college girlfriends turned mom friends who joined me on the course) and even my dad (who plotted out an interval training schedule for me to help me reach a PR on race day).

So If you haven’t connected the dots yet. . .I run to CONNECT! 

From the young child trying to connect with dad, to the grown woman striving to reconnect with the athlete she never knew she was all along, until she thought she’d lost it. It’s been an amazing journey that connects every phase of my life and forever keeps me striving for PRs in every race I find myself running.