An Ode to Running for Global Running Day

I started running almost 20 years ago, but for the wrong reasons. I started running to burn calories at a time when that was the last thing I needed. But it was running that then saved me. Running helped me reconnect with my body, helped me feel strong again, and taught me that in order to run, I needed to fuel my body.

In college, running helped me find my people.

After college, running helped me keep a sense of adventure and purpose during the monotony of working in a cube every day. It helped me see the world.

Now, almost 2.5 years after having my first child, running means more to me than it ever has. I usually run alone, very early in the morning. I don't often run with people, and I rarely race, but that's okay. Running is the only time in my day that it just for me. Nobody is asking anything of me. I can run as fast or slow as I want, and go where I want to go. I can listen to a podcast uninterrupted. It is the time when I feel the most like my pre-child self. A time when my body is my own; it doesn't have to carry a child or walk a dog. It gives me time in nature and time to appreciate that nature. It clears my head and strengthens my body so that I return ready to care for my family and my patients at work.

Something that I started to punish myself has turned into one of the most wonderful things in my life.

Long may you run friends!