Growing up, I often heard the saying “running is a metaphor for life”, and while I had some idea of what this phrase meant, a decade of running has certainly opened my eyes to the many ways in which it’s true. When I was 15, I thought it meant that working hard would get me to where I wanted to be. When I was 20, I thought it meant that persisting through the difficult times would pay off in the end. Now, at 26, I think it means that pursuing something with everything I have doesn’t guarantee success, but it does guarantee that I can look back with no regrets.
My running career has been full of ups and downs, yet I keep coming back to the sport even after the most difficult curve balls. For a sport that is so simple on the surface, running is truly complex. Yes, the race dynamics can be intricate and the best training methodology is constantly evolving, but that’s not what I mean when I say running is complex. I mean that it is mystifyingly addictive and rewarding and beautiful in ways that I cannot possibly put into words. There have been so many moments where I said “one more injury, and I’m done”, but those injuries have come and gone. I’m still here, still running, and still loving every moment spent on the trails, track, and roads.
Over the years, running has taught me so much, but the biggest lesson has been simple: I love running. Watch the video below to see the other lessons running has taught me.
