I run: I am a runner

I had this post written well before the bombing yesterday at the Boston marathon. It seemed fitting to post it today as runners unite in solidarity. A marathoner puts mind over body and endures to the end against seemingly impossible odds. We should all try to model ourselves in that way as we attempt to overcome this blow against society and humanity. Remember the stories of the first responders, the marathoners running to the hospital to donate blood, the good. That is our humanity at its finest. That is what buoys us above times like these.

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When we moved back up here in the fall, and finally started going to church again, I met a woman who asked me where we lived. When she told me she lived nearby, I told her I run right past her house. She said "Oh, so you're a runner!" Embarrassed, and a little abashedly, I said, "No, not really." What defines a runner? What defines anyone, really? Why do we look to qualify ourselves?



If you run half a mile or a half marathon, you're a runner. Claim that title with pride! If you're the mother of one child, it makes you no less of a mother than the woman with 5. I think we can all agree on that (I hope). So why are we so embarrassed to assert other titles? I am a runner. I cannot even begin to imagine that my body will ever be capable of a 6 minute mile, but I run. I run because it makes me feel strong, it gives me clarity, peace, a feeling of freedom. I've run in the rain. I've run in the snow. I've run in perfect sunshine. I run, that's what makes me a runner.




What makes you feel like a runner? Or a writer? What is something you do that just makes you happy?

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Here are a few great posts I've found already relating to the Boston Marathon Bombing:

I am a Runner, and My Heart is in Boston by Cori at Olive to Run
Sending Love to Boston by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean
An interview with #RunChat founder on ABC Capricornia (Australia) by Kalle with David of Running Because I Can