My Running Love Story

Running is one of my favorite things in the whole world. I love how it makes me feel and how it encourages me to be strong. However, it was not always this way.

My running love story began when I was in elementary school, and believe me, i​t was not exactly love at first sight. Like many kids, I participated in lots of team sports growing up. I tried it all: softball, soccer, basketball, dance, gymnastics. I remember loving the social aspect of team sports the most, and the physical aspect the least. When playing soccer, I volunteered to play defense so I didn't have to run as far down the field. During softball season, I strived to be a power hitter so that I could take my time jogging around the bases. Basically, the running part was not for me.

F​ast forward to 7th grade. This was hands-down the hardest year of my childhood. Puberty hit me HARD and with it came a lot of extra pounds, acne, and low self-esteem. One of the hardest days was when it came time to run the mile in gym class. I had hopes that I'd be able to keep up with my classmates, but 21 minutes later, I crossed the finish line, completely winded and devastated that I came in last. I wondered what it would have been like to be one of my peers who could run the mile in half the time that I could. It seemed like a surreal thought to even imagine.

Then, the summer before freshman year of high school, I learned that two of my best friends were joining the cross country team. Because I hated feeling left out, I decided that I would join with them! But, when I tried to run a lap around my neighborhood to start training, I made it 3 houses up the street and felt like my lungs were collapsing. Cross country was a no-go.

My meet-cute with running officially happened in college. During my sophomore year, I saw an ad for a "fun run" 5k road race. I was drawn to its advertisment that featured photos of groups of friends laughing and running through bubbles and enjoying snacks at the end. It seemed like it could be a fun activity to do with friends. I sent the ad to a friend of mine and proposed that we sign up, but snuck in the idea of walking the race. She agreed to sign up, but responded with: "let's go for it, but we are going to run."

M​y stomach dropped at her response. Once again, I felt torn between wanting to be able to run and being scared and beat down by my past efforts. But, something inside told me to try anyway.

On one grey, cold day in mid-January, I threw on cotton shorts, an oversized t-shirt, and my sneakers, downloaded the Map my Run app, and set off for my first run. At first, I remember thinking "this isn't so bad." When I could feel myself getting winded, I slowed to a stop and checked the app. I had run about 0.25 of a mile.

I won't lie, my heart sank when I saw that I had only run a quarter of a mile. It felt like there was no way that I could get up to running multiple miles at a time! But once again, something inside made me believe that this was just the beginning. I remember thinking that maybe if I could just keep trying everyday, maybe I could make it a little bit further. And so, that's what I did.

O​ver the next six months, I kept practicing. A few weeks later, my mileage increased to half a mile, then eventually I made it to one mile, By May, I was logging between 2-3 miles at a time. I was shocked and so incredibly proud of myself. I was really RUNNING!

T​hat June, my friend and I laced up for the 5k race, and the story goes that after that, I was in love. My friend and I continued running together and went on to run a 5 miler, a 10k, and then a half marathon. 3 years after that, I ran my first full marathon.

I​t's been 7 years since that life-altering decision to try running again. Life has a way of putting really incredible opportunities in front of us, and all we need is to be brave enough to embrace them. In 6 months, I went from running 0.25 miles to a 5K. When I think about the guts that it took for me to keep showing up, I get tears in my eyes. I really did that. And while my relationship with running has ebbed and flowed over the years, I know that it will always be there. And I am better and stronger for it.