A Big Step into Running

I am a runner. 

Or at least, I’ve identified myself as a runner for many years now. I do not know exactly what qualifies a person as a runner. It isn’t a sport that has pre-qualifiers for participation, nor expectations to keep up with. 

A basketball player must be part of a team. A swimmer must have access to a body of water. But a runner? If the one requirement is running, then anyone at any point can stand up and start. 

That is the beauty of the activity and sport to me. There is so little barrier to entry that I know no matter where I go or what I do I will still be able to participate. All I need are my shoes (a pair that admittedly needs to be updated) and the motivation to get up and go. 

I started running regularly in my Junior year of high school. I had taken a step back from the organized sports that I had played for the past five years, and used to two hours of practice daily from September to April every year. I needed somewhere for my excess energy to go. After a failed affair with crossfit, and a realization of the cost of pilates equipment, I landed on running as the easiest exercise to keep me healthy. 

It quickly became routine for me. A few miles put in before school or work every day was just the jolt I needed to wake myself up. I don’t even think about that now, the movements of getting up to go for a run are robotically recreated as part of my routine. 

I have found it so very motivating to get something done as the first activity of my day. Everything else seems easy after that. As energizing as it feels to wake up to a run though, it has almost become too routine. 

I wake up, I put on NPR Up First or a more recreational listening podcast, and I run between a mile to three miles. Wind down stretches, then it is time to get ready for class and work. 

The hardest part of the practice is mornings after a late night, waking up and motivating myself out of the warm blankets and into my running shoes. 

The realization that the morning runs I used to push myself sweaty through are now easy is one I am proud of, but also, it means I can be doing more. I can push myself to greater things. 

The idea of running more has been pushing at my mind for a while. Women are suited to distance running, prompting an empowering sense from the activity. While men consistently outperform women in most sporting events, the one where this isn’t the case is ultramarathon running. This is because women have a higher tolerance for pain, a greater ability to retain strength through it, and (due to childbirth) have the ability to recognize life threatening exhaustion and choose to ignore it. 

Learning about this phenomenon has inspired me towards running more, and towards running communities. 

I love the idea of having a run club that enjoys running together through city streets or on beautiful trails. Races, with lines of people cheering on the competitors, are invigorating. Even the community behind running, with people providing stories of solidarity, pace and gear recommendations, or simply encouragement from others with the same hobby, is a beautiful one. 

However, the barriers to entry on this are a little more than running itself. I have yet to find a run club that works with my work and college schedule, and although running through neighborhood parks and streets is something I enjoy, Reno’s cold weather and sketchy downtown areas around my apartment make this slightly more difficult. 

Still, sharing stories about running, getting recommendations from fellow runners through forums like Seamoss Girlies on Geneva or even from “runningtok” on TikTok, has been available. And it has prompted me to decide to push myself. 

I have started giving myself mileage goals for longer runs. Although I will likely never be a pace runner, completing exactly a 10k rather than stopping short with a whim has a greater sense of achievement. Running later in the day and going into the morning knowing I will fulfill a mid-sized goal later can be almost as energizing as starting the morning with a smaller goal. 

Of course, I still have much more room to grow. I want to eventually enter a race, to complete a half marathon (and then maybe a full?), to run with a run club and explore the sport even more. I should probably get running shoes that aren’t as beat up, look into trails in my area and update my Strava. It’s all a work in progress, but starting that work is exciting.