Running converts share their stories.
Getty Images/iStockphoto Warren Goldswain
To redefine your belief in yourself.
"I started running during the biggest transitionary phase of my 20s. Post-university, I was unemployed and unsure of what I wanted to do next. My health was a mess; I was constantly ill, tired, and around 140 pounds overweight.
"From the start, running was a mental exercise more than it was physical. With every tiny victory – an extra few yards, a mile run without stopping – I redefined my belief in what I could do. I knew from then, I'd never be the fastest of my running friends by a stretch, or be able to run the farthest, but each run would give me a different type of triumph.
"A few years on, my life has changed significantly and the average run feels a little less momentous, but I still try to make every run cathartic. Usually, I'll lace up and run when I've had a bad day, or a good day, or run when I need to think something through, and my favourite thing to do is run to check out my surroundings; running kicks come with me on every trip, without fail!"
@tahirah__ on instagram / Via instagram.com
For the sense of achievement.
"My school held an annual cross-country race down a stretch of the Thames towpath – imagine cotton gym-vests and plimsolls. Although I hated every minute and finished close to last, the race sparked my on/off relationship with running, which only really got going when I signed up for the London marathon in 2006.
"For me, running is a journey of self-improvement, but also the best release I've found. I love the sense of freedom it gives you, the opportunity to explore and the feeling of achievement. I've realised that however cold, dark, or early it is when you run, you never regret it."
@eddyshh on instagram / Via instagram.com
Because running is really a team sport.
"I started running to be on my own and to discover things that others won’t see. Today I run to share.
"Social media turned running into a team sport. During the darker and colder days my friends keep me going, because I see them running on Instagram. Of course I can’t stay behind. Something to do with the fear of missing out?"
@girlslove2run on instagram / Via instagram.com
