I was recently asked by a coworker why I run. I was prepping for my afternoon runcommute home in what can only be described as less than desirable temperatures (Fall, I’m ready for you), and as I applied sunscreen, donned gear, and prepped my hydration, she continued, “I mean, do you really enjoy it? It’s the heat of summer and we are surrounded by hills. There are more pleasant ways to exercise. What is it about running?”

Of course this got me thinking: Why do I run?

I started running in college as a way to stay physically active. I’d been a team sport athlete from age 4 all the way through college, and I needed a new way to get out my excess energy as I transitioned into ‘adult’ life. Over the years, I’d never particularly liked running. It was a means to gain fitness for my sports, not a sport I ever considered on its own. Then one fall semester I signed up for a local 5k, ran it, and hated it. It seemed like it would never end and I deeply questioned why anyone would do that on purpose. Maybe it was the fact that I ran it in a cotton t-shirt in Houston, but it’s safe to say, it wasn’t love at first stride.

Lucky for me, I didn’t let my relationship with running end there. Our campus was looped by a flat, 3 mile running trail, the perfect course for a new runner, and it became my goal that semester to complete it comfortably. I started running it a few times a week. It wasn’t always pretty, there was often walking (and swearing), but I stuck with it. I developed playlist chocked full of AC/DC and slowly began recognizing other runners on the route. By the end of the semester, I was able to reach my goal.

I’ve always been a goal driven person and one who likes challenges. After tackling that 3 mile route, I went on to run my first half marathon the following year. The year after that I ran my first full, where I made countless rookie mistakes including running in new sneakers (my dog ate my shoes the week of the race) and not fueling until mile 16. It wasn’t a pretty race as you can imagine, but I finished. It was around this time that running became more to me than just an activity to keep me physically active. Each new distance or route was a way to break out of my comfort zone, an opportunity to have a time to think through my day, and a means to develop confidence in myself.

Now, over 10 years later, I’m proud to be a runner and call running my sport. I still find challenges in each run, I still relish those quiet moments when I get lost in thought while on the run, I still draw self-confidence from the things I’ve accomplished through running, and I still hate 5ks. Sure, running can be a lot of hard work and sweat, but it brings a sense of balance to my life that other activities don’t.  As I mulled over all of these things as I tied my sneakers, not sure I could adequately convey to her all the reasons I run, I smiled and replied, “It makes me happy. It just make me, me.”