Running is not like other sports. Most people’s first response when they hear you are a runner is “Why?” Well, I’ll tell you why.
It’s the people. The bond that forms between runners is incomprehensible. Runners understand each other in a way that nobody else could ever fathom, unless they run.
Runners understand what its like to push yourself to the point of total exhaustion, and then push further, longer and faster.
Runners understand what its like to run in 100 degree weather and have sweat pouring from every pore in your body, to freezing cold temperatures when frost is forming around your eyebrows. Runners understand what its like to want to fall flat on your face and quit 800 meters into a race, yet push for the next two and a half miles because they know their teammates are doing the same.
Most people wonder why someone would ever want to put their body through that amount of pain and sorrow, and the reasoning is hard to explain. Although some people might be perplexed by this idea, running is very spiritual.
Sometimes the only thing that gets you through a run is thoughts of all the people out there who suffer immensely every day from diseases that have no cure, or people who are in wheelchairs who would give everything for the ability to run. When you run and you feel like you can’t go on any longer, you think of them and suddenly it’s not so bad. Suddenly, you feel strong and motivated. You realize that the ability to run is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
In the catastrophic events of Monday’s Boston Marathon, being a runner, my heart felt like it shattered. I watched fellow runners, my brothers and sisters, who I know trained for months in preparation for the race, horrified and running for their lives. People’s faces were filled with complete and utter terror. My eyes filled with tears and goosebumps consumed my body. A rush shot up my spine. Why would anyone do this?
Then it occurred to me. I realized the undeniable strength each and every runner possesses, an internal strength that no bomb, no matter how powerful, can destroy. I realized the strength of the running community will come together over such a tragic event and come out stronger than ever. It is calamitous events like these that put life into perspective and bring people together. The running community is one that is already unbreakably strong, and this will only makes us tougher.
The other thing that I love most about running is that it doesn’t judge. Not to put down other sports, but not everyone can play other sports. With running, all you have to do is run. It doesn’t matter how slow or how far. All you have to do is place one foot in front of the other, and you’re a runner. And that is why the running community is such a rich, diverse, and beautiful group of people.
If you take anything away from this article, take this: It it never too late to become a runner. Next time you don’t really feel like working out, think of all the poor and innocent victims of Monday’s attack, and run for them. Running never takes more than it gives back.
Steve Prefontaine, a renowned runner, once said, “some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.”
Go out and run and make something beautiful. Enjoy nature, and remember all the victims. Not just the victims of Monday’s event, but the victims of Sandy Hook, the victims of Sept. 11, and the countless in battle every day. Monday’s tragedy is just another reminder to never stop believing in the run.
Leave a Reply