I love running

As a spectator at the Windsor half yesterday, I felt inspired, and desperate to put running shoes on.

I love almost everything about running. It's easy and cheap to take part, you can do it anywhere.
The fitness benefits are enormous, and its the most efficient way to burn calories.
I love all the gadgets, HRM, SDM etc.
I love the science, sports physiology and medicine.
I love the events, and being part of something big, and being surrounded by like minded people.
I love the sense of acheivement, on completing a race/distance, the feeeling of being in control of your body.

The only thing I don't like about running is........running. It's so Bl@@dy hard! When I'm running I am frequently asking myself why I'm doing it (of course the answer is written above). I am quite new to running, and I hope that one day, I will go out and enjoy the actual run, but it hasn't happened yet!
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Comments

  • ........and of course there you have hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head!

    Most things in life that are worth having are hard work, take lots of effort and sometimes make you wonder why you bother. BUT unlike so many of those "other" things in life you don't need to be a genius, rich or talented to enjoy running.

    .....and that enjoyment is also so hard to classify because its so many things to so many people. Whether its the freedom that comes from pure physical activity, the opportunity to race, or simply the opportunity to get some time and space to yourself there are many, many paths to enjoyment.

    .....the bad news is that running never becomes really easy it just gets faster! For me, running a forest trail in autumn mists moving fast and quiet is like no feeling on this earth and worth every second of the effort.

    Stick with it and it will happen.
  • I love running, and love the looks on the faces of the young guys when I " reel them in " after they have raced past me earlier in the race. LOVELY !!!!!!
  • I run because I know that I won't always be able to run.
  • I like running because

    it gets me fitter than anything else
    it's free
    it's time efficient
    you make new friends
    it exercises my dog
    you get silly medals with Windsor Castle on

    and because sometimes, in between all the pain and the effort, you just run, you are serene, focused, strong and experiencing a wonderful sensation that very few people ever get to feel. There were points at Windsor where I just ran, in step with my neighbours and felt absolutely wonderful (there were also several bad bits but I won't go into those...)

    Keep it up Fat girl slim - one day you'll be running and you'll realise that it's taken over, it's not costing you anything in effort - you just can.

    (I want to go for a run now I've waxed so lyrical but I think I'll just dive into that big tub of Heroes hubby bought me yesterday to say well done - and restore my carb levels)!!
  • Does anyone else get that lovely feeling, when you've been out for a run and just pushed yourself that little bit extra and you feel your muscles just tightening, your chest is tight, and your whole body just feels really good and you think yes, I really enjoyed that.

    Is this the runners high, aren't hormones wonderful.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    I think runners high, for me, is when I'm running along and the effort feels minimal yet the speed is there. My body feels light and I'm just flying! Had one of those runs on Saturday.

    fat girl slim keep at it, you too will feel this kind of high one day. Enjoy!
  • because I can, because I've escaped from prison, because I'm really just flying low, because my legs and me are friends again, and I'm ridiculously proud of this very ordinary achievement, because the mornings are unbearably beautiful, because I am deeply, achingly grateful for having been given a second chance, and because I don't want to miss a step of it.

    I shouldn't be here, but here I am because when I can't run, and I can't run all the time, I want to think about it. All the time

    See you in Waterbeach, right? Not long now.
  • All of the above - it's a simple pleasure but most people don't do it. Wonderful gadgets and cracking people.

    Feels sooo much better when I run now, cos it ain't long ago, I thought I'd jogged my last.

    Performance is less relevant than attitude.
    The perfect sport, I reckon.
  • Do golfers, footballers, cricketers, snooker players etc view their sport in a similar way? My guess is not. I wonder what it is about running in particular that brings out these feelings?
  • I am so glad to hear fat girl slim say that! I thought I was a bit weird putting myself through running when I often don't enjoy it and have even had blubbing moments during training because I don't know why I'm putting myself through it!

    But I've hobbled around today after the windsor half yesterday thinking how nice it was to run along with everyone else. And that's it - I like the races - even though I'm pretty near the back - it's everyone together, with one goal. And the next day, well, you've done something that most other people wouldn't or couldn't do -it's a nice feeling.

    My advice is, join a club - run with people - it's much more fun that way and you can have a nice chat as the miles go by :-)
  • I love running because, for a short while, it frees me from everything else.


  • Well I never thought I'd ever enjoy running - I was only doing it till I saved up some money to join the gym! That was three months ago and I am now totally addicted and get a buzz I never imagined I would. It is so motivating to hear others stories etc. Running even encouraged me to give up smoking, when before I was convinced I was born a smoker!
  • No one is a born smoker .. ex smoker who gave up the same day I started running for real... that means more than a mile run walk back in April this year, just finished half marathon 3 weeks gone & 26.2 miles on Sunday ... and ever so proud... the saved money will be needed for tights, hat , gloves and high vis jacket for the winter... Keep it up
    DD
  • Being part of a sport that enables everybody of all levels to come together. It doesn't matter if somebody is faster or slower because when we beat our own PB it is an individual achievement.

    Unlike team sports, if you have an off day it only affects you..........so what....try again tomorrow.
  • For me - the freedom, not having to comply with someone else's rules, not having to justify myself to anyone, being in complete control, not having to care what anyone else thinks.
  • I find it hard ALL the time
    But something keeps me going back
    Dont think Ill ever get "Runners High" though, too slow
  • Can't agree more wih Sythree. I love running alone. Thought time. Just me, concentrating on me. Its the only time I can do this.

    And Stickless, great post. Fantastic description of why this sport is so personal and yet so great.

    Waap.

  • As I sit here with my foot in a bowl of warm, disinfecant laced water cos I grew the mother of all blisters on the ball of my foot at Windsor and its bl*@%y sore, I'm wondering when I'll next be able to run.

    Why do I love running? I'm not sure. I guess it's mostly cos it makes me feel good. I have yet to come back from a run, however well or badly it went, regretting having gone out.
  • I love running because of the freedom and fitness it gives me.

    I am probably in a minority when I say that I prefer working out alone rather than in participation team sports.
    I like to set my own goals and running gives me that freedom to challenge myself, and only myself.
    I can take it all at my own pace and enjoy every minute, knowing that I have acheived something on my own, that my fitness goals arebeing met, and that I will fit into my slim-sized clothes comfortably to boot! :-)

    My early morning runs make me want to get up out of bed!
  • I love running because it's so far removed from everything I expected to be doing by the age I am now. The rest of my life has been pretty predictable - respectable job title, decent house in slightly downmarket area, spouse, kids - but running is the wild card.

    It's the one thing I feel under no pressure to be good at. I can play at competing in races, but it doesn't matter if I never finish among the frontrunners. I don't need anyone else to validate me as a "good" runner whereas being seen as a good doctor or a good enough parent does matter.

    It's an excuse for solitary protected time. I don't often work out problems whole running, but I always come back feeling that the problems are smaller.

    And in the longer term, running is going to be the antidote to the fat-stashing gene that I may have inherited from my mother's family. This is important because I'm a nosy git and want to live forever just to see what happens next in the world.
  • Greeny.Greeny. ✭✭✭
    Excellent news that I'm not the only one that feels like the actual running part is such hard work that during it, I wonder why... However, after the run I feel brilliant and good about myself and knowing this gets me through the next run!!
    Of course, in the words of Swiss Tony, running is like loving a beautiful woman...
  • I love that ache you get in your legs after a good run. Sitting there, knowing you've burned off a good few calories, cleared you lungs (and head) and an endorphin buzz through the blood system. Can't fake it!
  • Nice thread. Did anyone notice on the infamous RW survey that the options for the most important reason we run didn't include 'enjoyment'?
  • Actually - to add a little bit of dark humour, I remember once I came close to being a mugging victim when I lived in London as two individuals jumped out on me on my way home (late) one evening. I did the only honourable thing and turned and fled and had put about 50 metres between me and potential muggers within a 100 metres - Dwain couldn't have caught me!

    So I can say I love running because it keeps the pound in my pocket!
  • Thanks for all the replies. I feel quite humbled as you have reminded me why I started running. During a difficult pregnancy last year when I could hardly move, I used to dream of just getting up and running, so as soon as I could, I did!
    So I think a good reason for running is that I am lucky enough to be physically able to.

    I also like the purity of running, no bat, ball, bike or team mate, just me, running for me.
  • Laura, I also noticed that the "reasons for running" options on the survey did not include any of my main motivations - to raise money for charity (initially), to get some time out from everyday life, and because it's really quite good fun most of the time.
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