Some people run for a purpose. For Robin, there are many.
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The Good Men Project Sports asked Why We Run?
In this feature series, we share your answers.
This is reader, Robin Farr’s:
At first all I hear is silence.
Then birdsong.
The crunch of my feet on gravel.
I am running.
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I started in running in January 2005. I hated going to the gym, so I figured I’d try something with a goal in mind and registered for a 10k clinic.
At first one minute of running made me feel like I was going to DIE.
I went to the run clinic every Wednesday night and dutifully did my solo runs two other days a week. I progressed, increasing intervals until I got to the point where I thought I might actually be able to do it.
And I did. That year at the end of April I ran my first 10K.
But I didn’t stop running.
Why do I run?
I run because it’s hard. Every run, good or bad, feels like an accomplishment.
I run because it gets me outside into the fresh air.
I run because a sunlit trail often seems like the place on Earth to be.
I run because when it rains everything feels refreshed, even me.
I run because, as I wrote before, it’s a battle between mind and body and it’s good for both.
I run because I have friends who run and I run with them.
I run because I’ve made new friends through running.
I run because often when running I’m also writing – drafting things in my head and thinking about the right turn of phrase as my feet pound the path.
I run because the trails are there.
Because I run, I get alone time I might not otherwise take time for.
Because I run, I’ve seen my expression reflected on other runners’ faces – a grimace signalling determination through pain.
Because I run, I also know what an expression of joy looks like on the face of someone out in the fresh air and sunshine doing something that’s good for them.
Because I run I see more dragonflies.
Because I run, I get to see my dog in his happy place, skipping along, sniffing, falling behind, catching up, surging ahead, pushing me farther.
Because I run I have learned to push myself – to not quit when I want to because I remember my dad’s advice and I’ve learned it’s true: “If you stop when it’s hard you never improve.”
Because I run I know what it’s like to cross the finish line of a half-marathon and receive a medal for finishing something I once thought I would never, ever be able to do.
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I see sparks of sunlight glinting off the lake.
Shadows bounce and twirl, reflecting the dance of the trees above them.
Today I ran.
Because I am a runner.
#3 Born To Do It << >> #5 Because I Have To
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For The Good Men Project Sports’ Why We Run feature, we are looking to collect YOUR comments, posts, Tweets, and emails that answer the questions: Why do you run? What are you running from? What are you running towards, if anything?”
Please send us your submission via email to myself at mkasdan@gmail.com or via Twitter @michaelkasdan #WhyWeRunGMP and #GMPSports. Submissions can also be made through the below comments section or on our Facebook page.
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This post originally appeared at FareWell Stranger.
Photo Credit: Cover: Flickr Creative Commons/Kai Schaper
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