The drifting through the open air, the soft shaping of your lips, the heavy clap of your feet on the ground – instinctual comfort in your tread.

There is more to running than the after-feeling, the sigh of relief that engulfs your trembling body as you reach your swollen hands to grasp the pickets of the fence, before collapsing into the grass and stopping the timer. 

There is more to running than winning or losing, forgetting to stretch, flexibility, poor technique, tired running shoes, lactic acid; clothing that restricts your breathing, cramps and the unconventional idea of running being a bore. 

Running is not the after-feeling, it is not the distance, it is not time, it is not the howling winds or the scorching sun. Similar to flying, running is the sustained, controlled movement of your muscles systemically in such a way that you propel forward with practise – almost effortlessly. 

Here’s what I think:

Every child loves running, running is more practical – it gets you places faster. Running allows you to see more of the world in a shorter period of time making it obviously, time savely. As a child running was not a chore, running was a pleasure, a precious treasure that allowed us to see the world more the widely before the sun met the horizon and we were called home. As we grew into our running shoes, there was for some, for most, a point where running became no longer a pleasure… but a trial, a chore, a challenge, a competition. There was a point where you made the conscious decision to define myself as a runner or not a runner – I think this is one of our greatest mistakes. 

Running is not winning or losing, there are days that running hurts more than others, there are days when you stop, days when you walk – running will always hurt, you will always push yourself. If you do, or if you do not run, that does not define you as a non-runner or a runner because if you asked me a non-runner is the closest thing to the abominable snowman – there is no such thing as a non-runner until you prove me otherwise. 

You can however make the conscious decision to not run, but that does not make you a non-runner. By defining yourself as one or the other you are placing yourself in the corner chair, you are isolating the possibility for change.

This is why I run: 

Running hurts, that never changes – every step I take I am driving through these little pieces of pain. But my pain is not rooted in the body rather my mind, it is pushing myself through the mental barriers that prevent me from allowing the gravel to catch my next stride. I do not run for a time, nor a distance, but a feeling – freedom. I run to put my noisy mind to ease, to cherish clarity and solitude. 

To feel the wind pull against my body as the birds clear my predicted path. I run for the feeling of power in reaching the peak, the surpassing of the ache and allowing my smile to grow at the sight of the sun setting in the golden sky. Running is my therapist, my escape, my adventure, my substitute for watching TV, talking, drinking coffee…

All this I get for the price of a pair of shoes… 

Like the eagle that was born to soar, we were born to run.

It is never too late to learn to fly.

Pleasure 

Darcy