Running is Transformative

I was not an athletic kid growing up. My parents tried and failed to get me excited about any sport. I tried softball, basketball, gymnastics – nothing ever lasted long. They were …perplexed. My siblings were all athletic superstars with trophies stacked floor-to-ceiling in the trophy case. I stared at that trophy case in wonder but stuck to what I did best: read books. If only there were trophies for that! 

I didn’t start running to prove to myself that I was finally an athlete. Nor did I start to get in shape, find a new community, build confidence, or feel powerful. Nope. I didn’t start for me. I started because I didn’t know how to grieve for Boston, a city I call home, after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. I needed a way to honor the victims, survivors, and their families, whose lives were forever changed. 

I watched it unfold thousands of miles away in Florida, where I had just moved a few months prior to Marathon Monday. My heart was aching to be with my community; to embrace my friends and strangers; to cry in unison and to rebuild together. Without knowing another way to process and grieve the tragedy, I laced up my sneakers and ran my first mile. 

By “run” I really mean, “huff and puff and walk and run and walk again because it hurts so bad.”

That was more than six years ago. Since then, my life has never been the same. 

I believe running transforms people. It transformed me, yet I didn’t know the transformation was happening until I looked back and saw the person I was before and compared her to the person I have become now. Ask any runner you know how they started, why they run, and what they love about it. I guarantee you’ll also hear how running has changed them. 

I ask these questions of runners all the time- especially other women! One woman told me she never would have started traveling alone if it weren’t for running races in new cities and countries. Another woman told me she never would have found the courage to leave an emotionally abusive marriage if it weren’t for the strength she found through running. And two more women told me they started running to celebrate turning 40 and ran the Boston Marathon together. What a way to celebrate life! 

Running has taught me more about life- failure, risk, determination, discipline, dedication and joy- than I ever thought possible. It has taught me about commitment, not just to myself but to the sport. It has taught me to embrace the unknown and how to break down big, scary, goals into small, attainable ones. It has taught me how to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when you can’t see the finish line. 

Every race and every finish line has a story and lesson behind it. I am grateful for every tough training run and every mile I slog through. I look forward to the runs where it feels like my feet are flying. I am learning to honor my running journey and enjoy the sweet lessons along the way. 

And when I am feeling frustrated during training or disappointed after a race or burnt out from too many runs that week, I come back to why I started running in the first place. I come back to the resilience and strength and #BostonStrong spirit that lives in me now. 

Running has taught that I am capable of more than I ever thought possible. I am forever changed. 

What has running taught you?