I run because the discipline of training carries over to other parts of my life. In twelve weeks, I went from running less than a mile to running over five consistently. Running helps me to grow, to challenge myself, to focus on goals, and to achieve more. The challenge continues through the years with old records to be broken, new goals to be accomplished. Next month, I am conquering my first 10K. Perhaps next will be a half-marathon.
I run because in a race, the only person I am competing against is myself - my previous times & my best effort. Everyone gets to run their own race, whether it is their first competition with the goal of finishing, or whether it is to conquer a new course or set a new record. In a world of other people’s expectations, it is freeing to have to live up to no one’s expectations but my own.
I run to celebrate community. Regardless of where I am in the pack, everyone is cheering everyone on. The comraderie is so valuable. From novice to advanced, everyone is running the same course and faces the same challenges. We’re more alike than different. We are excited to be able to learn from those who came before us and to share our knowledge, our stories, our encouragement with those who come after us.
I run because running teaches me so much about life and what it means to live well. I learn to pursue excellence and to foster community, to seek out wisdom from others and to invest in those who come after me. I learn to act with purpose and to chart the way forward, to follow the course and to prepare for the challenges ahead. I learn to be a better person and to run a better race. I learn what it means to run and to live.
“Even youths grow tired & weary, and young men stumble & fall. But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:30-31, NIV
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