Why Run?

Running is a habit I developed, believe it or not, out of boredom. My first experience with running came in high school, back when my personal philosophy was that running was reserved for "when something is chasing me." To escape our compulsory sports requirement for the winter trimester, my friends and I signed up for recreational cross-country skiing, which was notoriously lax. Our faculty advisor (I refuse to use the word 'coach') would roll up to the parking lot and take attendance from the comfort of his heated pick-up truck while we stood around picking the ice out of our bindings with bare fingers. He would watch as we waddled our way out to the soccer fields, and take off once he saw us get as far as the tennis courts. Most days, we waited five minutes, turned around, and headed back to the library to get our homework done.

However, one fatefully warm winter, we had no snow. None. On those afternoons, we were imprisoned in the indoor track (with the track team, I might add), and our faculty advisor reluctantly stayed and supervised. And so, left with no other choice, we walked, or jogged, or sometimes ran. Most of the time, as we ran, we sang James Brown's "I Feel Good," which we had arranged into a trio (and, as I remember it, Amanda rocked the horn solo on the bridge.) Most days, though, I didn't feel good, which I later discovered was because of exercise induced asthma, triggered by the cold. It was even worse when I had to run outside later in high school; my lungs continuously burned and I had a wheezing cough that stuck with me for weeks after the season was over.

It wasn't until my senior year of college that I discovered I could love running. I was a coxswain for the men's crew team, and winter training included a few weight lifting sessions each week. One day, I got bored while the men were lifting and hopped on the treadmill. I ran and people-watched until I had accidentally run a mile and a half without thinking about it. And it felt great. My lifting-day runs became a welcome routine. I began to understand my favorite thing about running--the uninterrupted time to let my mind wander. My brain was on a schedule for every hour of my college life: take quick notes in this class, write this paper, plan this meeting, choreograph this dance routine, apply for this job, run this practice, solve this friend's problem, lie in bed at night and think about everything you'll have to think about tomorrow. Those hours on the treadmill or the road were the only part of my day that I didn't have to think about anything.

Though my relationship with running has been decidedly on-again, off-again, it's the clarity that always keeps me coming back. I eat and sleep better when I'm running. I feel physically and psychologically stronger. Even if I don't hit the pavement with questions on my mind, by the end of a long, hard run, I somehow have answers.