When I Fell In Love with Running

Do you remember the run or maybe even the moment within that run when it happened to you?

When running became a passion rather than something you did to…lose weight, check off your list, feel better about yourself, spend time with a friend-runner.. All legit reasons and seem to be enough to fuel many o’ runners but for others of us…seen by some to be mentally questionable, running at some point became a passion.

For me it was 2003 during a Ragnar-type relay (called Providian relay back then) in California on a treelined forest feeling highway somewhere between Woodacre and Fairfax, California. It was the second leg of the three legs that I would be running. I think my overall mileage for the relay was around 13 miles.

Back story is that I had just started running regularly January 2003. The furthest race I had completed was a 10K and that was 7 years before. I had started running with my neighbor, Nancy. We ran every day at 6 am. We had a 3 mile route that we followed every.single .day (except Sunday). We met at the corner of Whitehaven and Sutton in Walnut Creek, California. We talked about all the things and decided that running with friends was much more fun than running alone. Some days I would run our route a second time after leaving Nancy at her house. I did that a few times and then it became sort of a regular thing.

We had a friend at church who had talked to my husband about filling a spot in their upcoming relay. My husband ran further than I did. He had run a marathon earlier that same year. He was happy to join in on the team. Well…a few weeks after he had joined, another one of the spots came available and they asked if I would like to join the relay team. After all, it was a 12 runner team and they did have 1 other female. I thought, “No way!”.

But one day after saying good bye to Nancy, I ran our 3 miles again and then I ran it again. I had just run 9 miles. I called my husband at work and said, “Okay, sign me up!”. I was so nervous for the race. I mean…seriously you run through the night! Crazy, right?

I started studying my routes. I knew the exact elevation gain. I mapped out a very similar elevation gain in my neighborhood for my hardest leg. I ran it and ran it. I tried running at night to try out my light and reflective gear. I tried running when I was tired etc. I felt as ready as I could going into the unknown adventure. I had no idea, really!

Have you ever participated in an overnight relay? One of the most fascinating parts of the experience, for me, was meeting all of the other team mates. We got really close to those in our van. (6 of us, I was the only woman). Changing clothes etc was a bit tricky but they were all considerate. They were all related to the captain of our team in some way…college room mates, work colleagues, friends from church etc. We had an eye surgeon, an accountant, financial guy, some 16 year old who got dragged in the very last minute who ran in a hoodie and untied vans. Eclectic.

Back to “the run”. It was my night time run and the run with the most elevation gain. I remember making my way up the hill and passing several runners; one woman in particular. My van mates would usually be somewhere mid route to cheer me on and as I was headed up the steepest part of my climb, I saw my husband with a cup of water outstretched for me. The woman in front of me thought it might be for her but as she neared him, my husband retracted his arm. I decided it was time to go for the pass and so I went for the left side pass instead of taking the water offered. And I ran and ran. Don’t you just love a good pass?! After reaching the top of the climb and descending the mountain, I could hear a runner approaching from behind. I thought to myself, “I’ll be damned if I passed her going up and I let her pass ME going down!” I knew what I had to do and it was scary for me. (I am a very cautious down hill runner.) I let it go…I mean I really started just running as fast as I could. And THAT IS WHEN IT HAPPENED FOR ME…I was running and I was having so much fun! I don’t think it fully sunk in until I finished the leg of that run. My husband saw me finish and he said, “You liked that didn’t you?! You really liked it…you love running!” I guess it was all over my face. I was a changed runner.

I am not exaggerating when I say that every run since then has felt different for me. Don’t get me wrong…not all of them are that much fun; some are super hard and for awhile I dealt with imposter syndrome. Not now. After 18 years of running consistently I think I can legitimately call myself a runner. I want to know? When did it happen for you?

I love running stories. Tell me them all. I think I will run a series of favorite running stories on this blog. Cuz I can!

Oh! If you love running stories and find them motivational..think how amazing it would be to have me help you with the same enthusiasm reach your life goals whatever they may be.

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