I’ve always been a runner
July 13, 2009My son spent much of Saturday evening scampering up and down grassy fields and sidewalks while giggling and shrieking. He was being chased by me and then by the two daughters of L’s friend Sally. There were no stopwatches involved, no winners or losers — just the raw excitement and pleasure of a fast-paced chase.
My son doesn’t often remind me of myself, but, in watching him run, I recalled my own giggle-filled exertions from 30 years ago: trying to catch Tommy Gero on the playground in first grade, darting between families on picnic blankets at band concerts in Main Street Park…. And then it occurred to me that I’ve always been a runner. Long before I realized that running could be treated as a competitive sport, I simply loved the physical sensation of covering ground quickly on foot.
These days, as I try to lead a mostly grown-up life, I’m tempted to think of my running merely as a healthy habit akin to brushing my teeth, or as a socially acceptable means of ego gratification. But Saturday evening reminded me that, of the many reasons why I run, the most fundamental one is just that running feels good. For me, it has always been this way.
And perhaps, in another 30 years, my son will observe his child scampering to and fro and be struck by the same thought.
My Track Record 
A nice reminder. I hope the race at Cougar was partly just frolicking, too.
Yeah, running feels good to me, too. I've been reminding myself of this fairly often, particularly when facing doubts about my fitness, performance, athletic future, etc. I think, "when I retire from trying to compete at my best, I can still look forward to enjoying the feeling of running."
Nice post Greg, and a very solid list too.