In my recent foray as a host of RunnersRoundTable the discussion moved to “Born to Run” (the book) and Chris McDougall. If you’ve read this blog you’ll know that I’m not a fan, and I pointed out that there is nothing “superior” (my word) about the supposed/alleged Tarahumara running mindset of the old Bobby McFerin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Poppycock, says I. I run because it is my passion.
Two recent strands relate to this. In one, TK wrote about getting up at 5 in the am to go for a run, albeit weather sent her to a treadmill instead of the roads of her beloved Queens. I don’t want to single her out, because again and again I see blogs of people, some fast, some not so much, getting up before dawn to get in a run or (for at least one triathlete I used to know (JLF) a ride). And I can safely say that all of my “must-reads” do incredible stuff to improve as runners. For the most part, these are late bloomers, recently come to the sport.
Meanwhile, I signed up for the Facebook page for runners at Iona Prep and Ursuline. The current coach, Jan Mitchell, sent me a cool list that showed me as No. 24 all-time at the school for the 2.5 mile course at Van Cortlandt. I posted to him that I thought my class — 1974 — was the first class that started a tradition of track excellence at the school, if only because of our depth. I asked Mitchell about how a school or community, and I pointed to Bronxville, gains a culture in which kids just run. He bemoaned that it’s not so much at Iona Prep because kids have such attraction to glory sports.
This got me thinking. Why do we run? Sure, there’s some glory, but shaving 20 minutes off a marathon isn’t going to matter to anyone but you. Civilians will think the same for your 3:30 as they will for the 3:10 you purchase with much blood, sweat, toil, and tears. Hell, tell them you did the “13.1 Marathon” and they’ll be none the wiser. There’s a physical benefit — although many focus on weight, it’s for maximizing performance and not for generic weight-loss (which is a good thing) — and there’s much to be said for being slim in a world of untucked polo shirts draping over a self-contained airbag. (As I finalized this, BW commented on my Upcoming Races post challenging some of my observations, and his comments are worth a look.)
Still, I can’t answer the question. Why did I show up in 1970, a nearly-blind kid with chipped teeth and a lisp, a complete lack of hand-to-eye coordination, and a father disappointed that his son didn’t make it past the first cut of the freshman football team, for indoor track? Why did I start going out day-after-day in 1979 to run and enter races? Why do I keep doing it? Why is it a passion?
I’m curious. Everyone’s assignment, then, is answering the following question: Why Am I A Runner? (And by “I” I don’t mean me.) Some of my readers are newbies, a year or two or three in. Others are, like me, lifers.
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April 1, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Robert James Reese
Running is my therapy. It helps to balance me out. That’s why I started running. But that’s not the reason I want to move into ultras and, eventually, Badwater. Those are alluring just because they offer such a great chance for self-exploration. I want to find out exactly where my limits are. And I want to push up right to the edge of them.
April 2, 2010 at 9:19 am
joegarland
Of course you also found it a great way to meet a fast woman.
April 2, 2010 at 12:33 am
Jaymee Marty
Tough one, Joe. I have been forced to think about this a lot lately as I work my way off of the injured reserve list. It would be easy enough to stop at this point if I wasn’t in it for compelling enough reasons. I have never been a competitive athlete before in my life, and I find it thrilling to compete in a sport and actually do well. I get immense satisfaction out of putting a lot of hard work into my running and seeing it pay off. This might be because I’ve not been as dedicated to other pursuits in my life as I am to running.
April 2, 2010 at 10:25 am
joegarland
I hadn’t thought about it that way. What do I do when I’m injured? I had month-long stretches on the DL years ago. Life was comfortable, sitting on the porch with coffee and the Times on Sunday mornings, not having to go out for an hour or so, not having to worry about speedwork, not having to stress-out over races.
I guess that’s what defined me as a “runner.” We get passion where we can and that’s when I realized that I had to do it. During a cold wet run I may think how nice it would be to be home with a cup of coffee but that just makes the eventual warm shower that much sweeter.
April 2, 2010 at 7:24 am
threlkeld
I run simply because it’s the purest way of striving for something, and measuring progress, that I’ve yet found. Everything else I do — work, creative endeavours, relationships — all bring to them a thousand influences and factors that affect their “success,” many of which I have no control over.
With running, I’m either getting better and meeting goals or I’m not. I also love racing when it’s going well, so that keeps me going through long bouts of training during which races are few or absent.
And running is something I can be really good at. Maybe eventually great at it, relatively speaking. I don’t have anything else like that in my life currently.
There are so many different ways to experience this sport. New options are opening up all the time. I’m forcing myself to try new running experiences to grow as a runner and as a person.
I’ve had some very good ideas come to me on long runs. I don’t believe these would have emerged were I, say, sitting on the couch.
The health-related reasons are secondary. I do feel better in general since I started running seriously and I like to think that I’m immunizing myself against the kinds of health problems that plague sedentary people as they get older.
Finally, it gets me out of the house, away from the phone, computer and all the superficial garbage I have to worry about on a daily basis in order to make a living. I’m more aware of the changing seasons and passing of time than I ever was.
April 2, 2010 at 7:29 am
threlkeld
I forgot to mention the whole brain chemistry aspect. I credit hard running for the alleviation of major anxiety and mild depression that I struggled with for decades.
April 2, 2010 at 7:26 am
Flo
Had to laugh about your Ewen reference on the Roundtable. Good stuff about the marathon vs. Half talk, too.
Ooh, homework! 1. Passion for something again, when at this age, I thought I’d already used up my “interests” card. 2. The objectivity of it: unlike artistic endeavors, there’s no opinion involved, your time is your time, period. 3. A new, fitter body. 4. Admission into a new community I never knew existed. From forums to blogs to the running strangers in my park, I’ve made a whole ton of cool friends and acquaintances. 5. The delight of growth and progress (even with the speckle of backsliding)…what a fascinating experiment into the human body.
I could list a few more, but this is the meat of the matter for me.
April 2, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Alex
Great post, Joe! I didn’t mean to be a runner, it was purely by accident. I ended up living through an illness that should have claimed my life (2001-2003), but found that I could eventually walk and extended that to two miles per day. Eventually, I figured out I could finish that faster if I walked / ran it, and entered my first 5K with a singular goal of not being last (Oct. 2005). I’d never run more than two miles, but figured I’d just walk the last 1.1. I was hooked when I managed to run the whole thing, and guess what, I wasn’t last. I ran a 5K the next weekend too, I had so much fun. I actually felt amazingly “normal” to be with these people. Then I got news from my doctor–my heart was actually getting stronger. So, I kept running. I know as long as I am running; getting faster than I was or stronger than I was… then I am somehow still OK. Eventually, I know I will slow down some day, but I hope today is not that day. I cherish running as it has given me back my life, and I found I’m completely addicted to it and couldn’t possibly give it up. I live to run.
April 2, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Pascal
I ask myself a similar question a few years back and answered it the following way.
http://pascal-ironman-project.com/?p=30
Reading it again, it still rings true.
At least for me.
April 2, 2010 at 11:12 pm
MarkU
Joe,
Good post. I began running ten years ago, then in my early 40s, subsequent to losing 50 pounds and then being advised by a good friend that without incorporating exercise into my life I’d certainly regain my former weight. This excellent advice led to my gradually adopting running, which I’d never done with any seriousness.
While it took a year for me to gradually get up to 12-15 miles per week, and four more years to do my first competitive run (a local 5K – which I loved so much that I signed-up for 10Ks then my first marathon), I ran – and continue to run simply because it feels so good and provides me so many benefits.
Just a few of running’s many benefits to me are: A large social network of fellow runners who share this common passion; Stress-relief; Providing the physical stamina to enjoy my life to its fullest; and Providing a sense of accomplishment; Providing me numerous health benefits.
April 3, 2010 at 7:20 am
phil
short answer to why run: because (when the running’s going well) theres always a sense of getting stronger…
(strength in a generalized sense, applicable to body-mind, including *strength of character*…)
April 3, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Mark Thompson
Why I run? I love the mixture of camaraderie & solitude, the physical challenge of it, the emotional satisfaction I feel when I finish a run, the thrill of getting an age group award, the memories of races in far off lands like Paris & London, running with people from vastly different cultures who nonetheless have that one thing in common with you.
April 4, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Why I Run « RunWestchester
[...] purpose was to write a post pulling together the strands of the response to my “Why We Run” post. I started doing so, but gave up, figuring that each of the comments deserves viewing [...]
April 6, 2010 at 2:58 am
TK
Oh Joe! I run for silly reasons like being able to still occassionaly eat dessert at my age without having as ass the size of a tractor wheel.
But mainly, I run because it is the one thing I do that no one else can take any credit for. Everything else I do (and Julie touched on this) is a compromise, a shared effort, or just part of a whole. When I PR, it is entirely mine. When I fail, it is entirely mine.
I also run because it makes me feel strong, tough and sexy.
There are scores of other reasons, which change more frequently than the seasons (I just wanted to rhyme there), but these above are the crux of it. Especially the one about dessert.
April 6, 2010 at 7:19 am
Ewen
Why Am I A Runner? Good question Joe. Like Alex, I got into it by accident. In my first motorcycle enduro I hit the wall 2 hours into a 4 hour race so I started running to improve my fitness. After a few months I liked running as much as riding and eventually the running took over.
I love racing, and running is the purest form of racing. One doesn’t need a pool, a bike (with $2000 wheels), a fast motorcycle, an F1 team. One just needs oneself and a race. Despite what Craig Mottram said, one doesn’t need big balls to run a footrace — one only needs those if one is going to race MotoGP.
I race even though my talent for running is very middle-of-the-pack — I’m like Haruki Murakami in that regard, and I have the same voice telling me to run — the voice one hears so well in the latter chapters of his book
I’d love to race to win, but I only ever had the pleasure of racing for 2nd place (in a small regional half marathon), but footraces have this thing called the PB. And when one can no longer achieve a personal best time, one can chase age-group PBs. One can also race one’s mid-pack rivals. Then there’s the camaraderie that Mark mentions — in training groups, teams and at races. Running is good fun!
April 6, 2010 at 8:43 am
JoeGarland
Ewen, I’ll have to take your word on the late chapters.
April 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm
joegarland
Pinched/poached from Bobolink: Why I Run Part III: Because I Used To Think I Couldn’t.
April 14, 2010 at 10:09 am
bobolink221
Thanks for the link again!!
The Why I Run series something I’ve been adding slowly to my daily posts. There are so many reasons!
The one I feel the most connected to is in this post: Why I Run II: Reminder Runs
Basically that training forces me outside in all conditions, on some rainy, cold days when I would never leave the house otherwise. And on those days I often have amazing experiences I would never have had without running, and wouldn’t trade for all the comfort in the world.
Also in thinking about your track club comments, I wrote an article for our newsletter about why so many people at Rockefeller University run the marathon (I wonder if I interviewed the ppl. from your team?) . One guy I interviewed talked about how his town was football oriented, and he and the others on his track team were “scrawny and helpless”. Except they could run, and run well, and their track team ended up winning more than the football team ever did. It gave them power, something they could be good at, and a strength that was different than just brute muscular toughness, which they didn’t have.
(it’s under the Published Articles link on my blog, I think you would enjoy it)
May 18, 2010 at 7:21 pm
joegarland
There’s a real good one from Never Quit, Never Surrender. Check it out.
June 14, 2010 at 3:41 pm
michjoy61
Why do I run……
Would because I love it be a good enough answer? And even on the days I hate running, I still love it. Even on the days, I have a bad run, I love it.
Plus as threlkeld states:
Brain chemistry aspect. It’s a proven fact that exercise, running for me alleviaties major anxiety and mild depression that I also had. Had being the operative word.
Also, and most importantly, running can be taken away from you in a split second. I have a really good friend (65 years old) runner for over 30 years. She was coming home from a run, got hit by an SUV. The SUV ran over her leg. Every bone shattered. Surgery and 2 months later she is first learned how to walk all over again. She may never run again. She is who got me into running to begin with.
So running is sacred to me even though I am not fast and never will be. I just adore it. I am a much better person because of running. And I met amazing people because of running. I guess thats it.
June 14, 2010 at 3:47 pm
michjoy61
I need to rephrase. I don’t run because it can be taken away from me in a split second. I think what I was trying to say is I cherish my running each and every day that I CAN RUN. Because you never know what may happen. As in anything in life. I respect that my body allows me to run and move forward and smile and it just makes me feel good. So why not do things that make you feel good?? Even when it doesn’t feel so good, it really does when you think about it. Sure running in horrid humidity can suck, but man it feels good. :O)
July 5, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Tracy
This is a great question, Joe, and I’ve loved reading the responses. Here’s mine:
I run because I can, physically. And because I will never take that for granted.
I grew up in a running household with a dad and a sister who were both marathoners. For a long time, running was something I took for granted. If I wanted to lose weight, I ran. If I needed exercise, I ran. To feel good about myself, I ran. And then, for me, all of my reasons – predicated on running always being there – changed instantly.
One morning in March, 2008, I woke up with stabbing chest pain that drove me immediately to the ER. At age 30, I had a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot in my lung. The pain was excruciating, and I felt it every time I tried to take a deep breath. For months after, I could not walk up a flight of stairs. Me – an avid runner and a four-time marathoner – could not walk up a flight of stairs. Weeks after the clot, I often crawled up the stairs to my second floor apartment (sometimes in tears). Six months after the clot, it still could take me nearly 15 minutes to clear the two flights of stairs leading from the subway to the street.
I wanted to run up the stairs, but I barely had the lung power to walk, even with breaks.
I’ll be on blood thinners (probably) for the rest of my life, but at this point I’m healthy. However, my race times now are slower. Running is harder. But I’m training for the NYCM this fall, and I’ll get there. Running through my recovery has been a painful, arduous, and humbling process. But most significantly, it helped me realize why I run: because I can.
March 10, 2012 at 5:40 am
Bennett
Nimoy’s presence gives rise to two pleasing moments in the film.