"The Importance of Making Sure You Love It"

I came across this article as I perused through my, what some would call, nerdy running magazines/websites. However, I would like to offer my thoughts to the question many of us get, "Why do you run?" I have been asked this question countless times by my friends and others who are not "runners." I never really had an answer until one random night my senior year at Marist when my roommate and I stayed up until the early morning hours discussing this question. As a side note, all of you who are off to college soon will enjoy these nights of random philosophical discussions with your roommate. It is part of the college experience. We came up with something very similar to what this article discusses. We run because we love it. For me, it is part of who I am and part of my identity. There have been many many times when I have debated quitting or stopping. I was a pretty decent runner in high school and was lucky enough to make it on a really good Division 1 team in college. However, I struggled all through college. Between making the transition to college life and college running and battling random illnesses and injuries at inopportune times, I never really put things together. I remember countless times asking myself "Why am I doing this?" Why am I running 60-80 miles a week, waking up at 5:30-6:00am to go to our first practice of the day. Even now, there are days when I wonder why in the world did I want to run a marathon. Why am I going to do it again? Deep down the reason was and is, because I loved what I was doing even though I wasn't running the times that I wanted. Luckily, I was able to put things together my senior year cross country season and I ran some respectable times. Out of 12 seasons of college running, I had 1 successful season. Now looking back on things, I wouldn't trade it for anything. The life lessons I learned and the friendships that I made with my teammates will last forever. So my advice to all of you. Reflect on what you are doing. If you don't love what you are doing, than you shouldn't do it. Of course there are going to be ups and downs, that is how life is, but make sure you take a good look at the whole picture. I will end with a quote I liked from the article...
"I love how raw running makes us. We are so vulnerable and exposed when running; sharing that time and experience with friends forms amazing bonds. Running creates a common ground between people who otherwise might not have anything in common."