“May the wind be always at your back..”

(and the trail be slightly downhill, both ways, the sun shining, the crosswalks always saying walk, and no large dogs off their leashes.) – Slightly edited Irish proverb

Sometimes, especially the day after a hard workout or during an increase in mileage, I wonder why, exactly I run. After years of putting everything into it, I’m nowhere near the best. I’m a solid runner, but I still have a lot of room for improvement. To put it into perspective, I’ll describe where I started.

In elementary school, I failed miserably at the 60 yard dash. Middle school was even more embarrassing – I was alright at high jump, but every other day we ran a lap as a warm up.. and it wasn’t pretty. I complained loudly whenever I was made to practice my leg of the 4 x 200m and generally hated moving faster than a walk. I was definitely not the most confident kid out there. (Don’t pay much attention to the running shoes I had on.. those were just for show.)

I was urged to go out for a fall sport to get involved at school, but I was terrified of trying out for volleyball. When I heard that everyone was welcome on the XC (cross country) team, I promptly signed up. I ran, but it was probably the worst 3 miles-per-day you’d ever seen. My toes were pointed out, my arms crossed my chest, my shoulders were hunched, my knees caved in, and I’m 99% sure my lack of muscle made me look like this in slow motion.

Alumni Run (A team at any year from my high school is 3x that many people, easily.)

Somehow I made it in running. I am proof that talent helps, but that running is a skill you can learn.

More that learning a skill, running is something that just keeps giving back. I’m not talking just blisters, strained muscles, sunburns, windburns, twisted ankles, ripped up trachea, and the occasional runner’s high to make it all worth it. Running has actually given me a lot over the years. In school it has given me determination, dedication, discipline and perseverance. It has given me a close-knit group that always has my back. (There’s nothing like suffering through intervals together to create long-lasting

Bison Invitational Oct. 6 2012

friendships.) It has also given me a way to cope with all the crazy bricks life tries to chuck at me. More than any of that, running has given me opportunity. If it weren’t for it, I wouldn’t be at OCU, meeting loads of grand people and studying in such a good science program. Everything in my life right now is occurring because of running.