Why not?

When I was in second and third grade, I played a few years of YMCA soccer. This was not the youth soccer we know today—this was 22 kids chasing the ball on a dirt field, swinging a leg and hoping for the best. Maybe they kicked the ball, maybe they didn’t. My contribution was one of my front teeth when a ball struck me in the mouth. Coach Diehl picked up a big-ass rock and asked if this was my tooth. That story has aged well over the years.

Anyhow, One day during a 5:15 practice at Franklin Field, a buddy and I got busted for yakking it up in the back while coach was speaking. As discipline, he told us to take a lap around the practice field (which was in better shape than the field at the Y). Cold busted, George and I took off running.

And when I worked at the running store, sometimes we’d have to explain how we were a specialty running store, but… we couldn't finish our sentence before the customer would tell us, “Oh, I don’t run.”

They couldn't tell us fast enough. Like running was something people didn’t do—a label they didn’t want. I think the ‘running as punishment’ thing takes over pretty early, and that folks think running is evil. The whole being out of breath thing must scare a lot of people. Perhaps it’s what they read about getting injured. But if you’re doing it right, have the right shoes, good form, build gradually, and get a little better every time, the injury bug should stay away.

It could also be the soreness we feel after a run. I enjoy that feeling, and to an extent, it’s something I look for—to have that energized feeling in my legs the rest of the day.

I never understood, and still don’t. Ever pay attention to how fit a distance runner looks? I especially envy the soccer players I watch on TV—those athletes run a lot during practice and during a match. Not much of it is in a straight line, either. Lots of stopping and starting, shuttle drills, and such. As a result, they don’t have an ounce of fat on them. I’m sure a few of them (by their standards) are out of shape, but even those players have a fitness level that far exceeds most of ours. 

Besides, why wouldn’t someone want to be healthy? How do folks seem to avoid taking just one hour of their day (just 4.2%) to exercise? Why wouldn’t someone want to test their boundaries and just see what’s possible? Why would we avoid the feeling of accomplishment, the sense of ‘wow’ that I (and countless others) have felt toward the end of their first marathon? I seriously welled up at about mile 24, knowing that this was going to happen, knowing four months of training and four hours of pain were resulting in this incredible feeling. Also that I learned a little bit about myself and what I am capable of.

I also like the feeling of fitness I get from a run. I like being able to crank out the day’s mileage. Hitting my splits. Maybe even throwing a little speed in there. It’s a great feeling to know I have done something positive for my body, and that over time, my body has responded. I’m not as ripped as a soccer player or distance runner, but I feel and look great.