016: Why Do You Like To Run So Much?

I get asked this question all the time.

Usually it's colleagues, family friends, or acquaintances who regularly wave as they pass me on my usual route around town. People who can't quite understand why someone would choose to spend significant portions of their free time running through forests, over mountains, or along lonely roads in the rain when they could be curled up comfortably on the sofa.

It's a fair question, I'll admit, and one I've given no small amount of thought to myself.

Strangely enough though, for all that contemplation, I've never landed on an answer I found entirely satisfying.

I think I'm much clearer on what the answer isn't.

What I like about running isn't races, medals, or personal bests. They're memorable moments to experience from time to time, and I respect the drive some people have to keep chasing a faster time, whatever that means to them, but my enjoyment of running has never come from proving I'm quicker than this guy or that.

I could finish first.

I could finish last.

I'd be largely indifferent to either.

I'll admit those things mattered once. Over time, though, I've come to appreciate running in a different way.

I like the way it creates quiet in a world that's becoming increasingly noisy.

The way it lets you think without trying to think.

And sometimes, the way it lets you stop thinking altogether.

Running has become less of an exercise and more of a place.

A place to process disappointment, celebrate good news, untangle ideas, make decisions, or simply exist without being expected to produce anything.

Somewhere along the way, running stopped being something I did to get fitter, faster, or improve my life. Instead, it became a place where I could experience it.

And that's probably the closest I've come to a real answer.

I like running because I like who I become when I'm running.

Peace of mind in physical form moving through space and time.

So, if, like me, you’re enjoying some tea and a packet of custard creams on a quiet Sunday evening, perhaps ask yourself the same question.

See what you find at the bottom of that mug.

Why do you like to run so much?