Running has given me far more than what is obvious. When I started running it was for a simple reason - to lose weight and to stop bending over on the soccer pitch and coughing like a smoker. Running helped in those areas, but running has given me so much more than that. Running has given me inner peace (yep like a hippy), a love of the great outdoors, confidence and above all else, it has given me the most amazing bunch of friends, a group of people who include me and help me out. It has given me somewhere to belong.
In the last few years, I have developed such an appreciation of the great outdoors. Where previously my traveling expeditions took me to big cities and famous historical sites (still of interest to me), now I find myself drawn to mountains, lakes and trails. I care deeply about the world in which I live. I enjoy seeing the sunrise and running under the light of the moon. I get a thrill out of spotting wildlife (with the exception of birds of course). In discovering this new appreciation of the great outdoors, I have found it easier to let things go, to accept the good with the bad, to see the highs and lows as the ebbs and flows of life. I am just one tiny spec in this beautiful playground. There is no need to get hung up on what I cannot change.
Running has also taught me that I can do things that scare me. I can run in the dark by myself; I can travel 100 miles by foot; I can hike up mountains. Where I once thought I couldn't run two laps of a soccer pitch, I now have this belief that if I put my mind to it and work hard, my body can take me wherever I want it to (albeit slowly). This confidence has infused into other elements of my life.
The friends I have made along the way in this running adventure are what I value most of all. I have found a group of people who make me laugh, who inspire me, who help and encourage me and who want to share this adventure with me. Of course I have wonderful friends from outside running too, but with running I have found an entire group of people with whom I belong. I don't simply have a handful of friends that I have met through various elements of my life, but there is a whole group that I am a part of. There is this little niche where I can sit and not feel like the odd one out. Recently I have been going through some rough times and along with my two best friends and my family, my friends I have met through running have been amazing. I cannot express how grateful I am for all the love and support that has been shown.
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