Brittney on Why I run

Hey guys, Brittney here. From A Day in the Life Too... (ever heard of it? No? Then that makes you normal. Congratulations.)

 

So. I ran my first marathon the day after I graduated high school. Worst experience of my life, as I had neither trained properly nor slept NOR eaten the night/morning before. I wanted to die at about mile 16 and pretty much did. Finished up as a near-corpse in who knows how many hours.

 

I ran a few miles here and there periodically throughout college and my 20s. Then I decided to redeem myself in the marathon department in 2007. Had a baby in 2008, then I did an ultramarathon (mine was the wimpiest kind, though, at just 50k, so don't get too impressed) in 2009. Then another marathon last Fall, in which I missed qualifying for Boston by under 40 seconds. Meh. Mayber another time...

So. Why do I run? I don't, really, in Winter. But Spring through late Fall, you'll find me running for a number of reasons:

 

(1) I run because I'm one of the least coordinated/athletic persons ever born. It's by the sheer goodness of Fate that I'm even able to tie my shoes. Stuff like Step Aerobics? Basketball? Jumprope? Forget it. Running wins by default.

 

(2) I run because, at first, it's hard. No matter how in-shape (or out-of-shape) I am, the first 1-2 miles of any run are hard. Then physical automation takes over, and I'm free to enter the world of a completely freed mind. I never know where it'll take me -- somewhere sweet, somewhere reflective, somewhere funny, somewhere painful, somewhere spiritual, somewhere lame. It's interesting to explore the bones of one's brain now and again. 

 

(3) I run becuase I love-slash-hate the point I reach in a long run where part of my brain is screaming for mercy and to please pretty please stop before the next step, but the other, more dominant part of my brain overrides it, with patience and logic, reminding myself that the only way to be finished is to keep going, and what a sweet finish it will be. It's the only time, other than childbirth, where I become totally, completely unified mind-body-heart. Hard to describe. But kind of addicting.

 

(4) I run so I can eat what I want. Mmmmm...

 

(5) I run because it requires no membership or special equipment. One can do it anytime, anywhere. Annnd because, from start to finish, it's a calorie-burner.

 

(6) I run because it's hard and it's awesome. Especially when Coldplay sings in my ear.

 

Welp. The end. 

Thanks Brittney for writing this. If you like this, then refer to why others run. Why do you run? Want to write a similar feature here, just let me know.