Actually, I've no idea. Not really. There are, of course, the usual answers: to stay healthy, to be fit (Être fort pour être utile), to be sociable (running clubs, races), to challenge oneself, to get "runner's high" (!).
But why do I really run? What gets me up in the pre-dawn darkness, to warm up and head out the door, even when the weather on the other side of the door is not so inviting? Which was the case a few weekends ago, when the forecast for the morning long run (16M) was for a lovely freezing rain.
About
five miles into that run, the freezing rain began. It didn't feel that cold,
temperature being just above 30F. But my running jacket gradually stiffened,
as a thin ice layer built up. By Mile 12, the jacket's zipper had frozen, as had the water bottle's nozzle. It was also getting harder and harder to see
clearly, so I finally stopped at a covered walkway of an outdoor shopping area.
Only when I took off my glasses did I realize both lenses were iced over on
both sides. I spent the next several minutes to huff on the lenses and swipe
off the ice with my gloved fingers.
Because of the forecast freezing rain, I was running one of my "intestinal routes" (to be close to home, just in case). It was fortuitous that, when I finally could no longer see through my glasses, I was at the part of the route, this outdoor shopping area, that I often use to run its 1.2-mile lap. (The number of laps depends on the particular run.) The covered walkway, though, is not normally part of the lap. This time, under the cover, I ran the walkway back and forth (about 0.2 mile each way) for about two miles, before heading home.
So,
why do I run? Why do I still do these weekend long runs? It’s a great training
tool, of course, to enable the body to run more efficiently, and it benefits one’s
overall fitness, physically and mentally. But, with most in-person marathons
still not in sight anywhere, I'm not training for one. This question has been with
me for years. What got me to think about it again was this recent tweet by @saraliciac: “I
want whatever the people who run at 6 am have.” With 1.1 million likes, evidently it
resonated.
Running is the perfect metaphor for life. So, the fact that I write a running blog is sort of an answer to why I run. (See also Ian Mortimer’s “Why Running Matters.”) Tracksmith is an independent running brand. It’s a bit pricey for me, and I’ve not yet bought anything from it. On its website, it keeps a journal, with contributions from various individuals, e.g., “Have faith in the run.” But, it was the page on “Church of the Long Run” that caught my eyes several years ago. It’s a product page but had the following:
“The
Sunday long run is often conflated with spirituality. It’s an easy comparison:
like church, the long run is a weekend ritual. And like any religion, it
encourages us to reflect on our shortcomings and appreciate all that we have.
The fact that it’s the one run of the week where we push for distance, not
speed, only encourages that - done correctly, it’s an introspective, centering
experience. We don't all share the same religion, but as runners we're all
parishioners at the Church of the Long Run.”
This is similar to the “meditation through movement” of the Tendai Buddhist monks of Mount Hiei of Japan (aka “marathon monks”). See BOSS, the ultimate cross-training, part 4 (spiritual).
Nature as church. Though I'm still searching for an answer, I think that starts to get close to why I run.
