I believe in running.
Growing up, I was the furthest thing from an athletic child. I took tennis lessons for a month, I quit the field hockey team after three weeks, and I never made the soccer team. I learned this early on when I failed at almost every sport I played. It was quite comical, my lack of athletic ability. All of my gym teachers in middle and high school were well aware of my lack of athletic ability, and also my lack of interest in sports.
I hated gym class. As an nonathletic girl, it was obviously my least favorite period of the day. When we were forced to run our first mile in the eighth grade, I was just like every other girl sitting on the bleachers trying to find an excuse. “My head hurts.”, or “I just got my period.” Obviously, the teachers didn’t believe us and I was forced to run around that track four times, as somebody who never ran in her life.
To the surprise of my gym teachers, not only did I not finish last, but I finished top 10 running a mile in close to seven minutes.
“That was fast?!” I asked. I had no idea what a fast mile was or what a slow one was. I thought I was athletically challenged and naturally expected to finish last. I don’t think I was ever more surprised with myself, I was too surprised to even be happy. Despite this, I did not join the track team in high school, but started running for fun. As I got older and went through high school my running slowly decreased and until I got to college was near gone.
Coming to Penn State my freshman fall, I was overwhelmed with stress, homesickness, and confusion about where I belonged here. My dad told me to go for a run. Since then, running has become a staple part of my daily life here in State College. I now run five miles a day five days a week, and am now training for my first half marathon. I have run 5K’s, run on the treadmill, outside on the streets of state college, and through parks and fields here and at home.
It’s hard to imagine my life today without a treadmill or my staple black Nike’s. The feeling of adrenaline rushing through as you finish that last mile, that sprint up the hill when you think you can’t make it, or the feeling as you cross the finish line at the end of a 5K is something nothing can compare to. For that hour, there are no worries. It’s only you, your shoes, and the ground you’re running on. In those moments, your ability is infinite… I believe in running.