Sunday, November 09, 2008

The Restorative Power of Running

Though it has been said thousands of times – and more eloquently than I could hope to conjure – I still feel compelled to comment on the benefits of running.

Too numerous to count are the times I’ve been energized, uplifted and centered simply by jogging a few miles. Running has transformed me from an overweight smoker into a lean and mostly healthy person. Fitness, pride and increased confidence are but a few of the returns on my running investment.

Running has helped me cope with loss and has also brought new friends into my life.

Of course, there are the set backs… Heel spurs, knee pain, Achilles tendonitis and other overuse injuries. But these hardly register when compared to physical and emotional benefits of running.

So onward I run – through my fatigue, aches, pains and foul moods - always the better for it.

Love life, engage in it, give it all you've got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.
- Maya Angelou

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would be one mean person without it.

Ginger Breadman said...

The quotes you use are always so amazing - and yet, your own words in this post convey how running has become part of you.

Phil said...

That's why we run ... I also enjoy coaching newbies into our sport. Watching them go through the agony of the initial training with only a vague promise the they will thank me later soon transforms in that ah-ha moment when they start to feel what we feel.

Anonymous said...

running is so powerful - when you run nothing else matters!