Have I ever told you I love to run?
LOL. I know. I just can’t shut up about it already.
But there are two reasons I can’t stop talking about running. First, it was an incredibly hard-fought battle to get to this point. And second, the rewards of this habit have been so life-changing that I want to somehow transfer my passion directly into your brain through computer osmosis.
Seriously. I’m the reason for the phrase, “If I can do it, so can you.”
Someone, a long time ago, watched 15-year-old me quit after running a quarter of a quarter of a mile and then just saw me finish my 13th marathon last weekend and thought, “Well, that’s not what I expected.”
Trust me. I’m just as surprised.
And I often wonder where I’d be today if I hadn’t spent so much of my life vigorously resisting the activity I now love.
But I’m happy I finally got here.
My Brief and Unremarkable Track Career
In high school, I played soccer, but I also decided to join the track team.
Naturally, I selected the event that involved the least amount of actual running during practice.
High jump.
Funny thing about high jump: you don’t just jump over a bar.
Apparently, there’s coordination involved. You have to approach at the right angle, launch yourself off one leg, twist your body and somehow gracefully fling yourself over the bar.
OOMF.
That’s my technical description of the process.
Given my previous attempts at basketball layups (and please, in this era of everything living on the internet forever and ever, don’t ask me to demonstrate) I should have known high jump wasn’t going to be my calling.
I cleared the lowest three-and-a-half-foot bar exactly once.
Once.
My track career was not long for this world.
The only other events that didn’t involve substantial running were discus and shot put. And if you’ve ever seen my spaghetti arms, you know those weren’t realistic alternatives.
So I left track behind.
Problem solved.
Or so I thought.
What If I’d Started Sooner?
Fast-forward a few decades.
I’ve now spent about ten years running, surrounded by people who share my enthusiasm for the sport. Some discovered running as adults, like I did. Others have been running since childhood.
And sometimes, I envy those lifelong runners.
Not necessarily because they’re faster or stronger, but because they built a foundation early in life that I spent decades avoiding.
I wonder what my running might look like today if I’d started developing those skills, habits and confidence thirty years ago.
Would I be stronger? Faster? More resilient?
Maybe.
There’s no way to know.
But the thought has made me reflect on other opportunities I passed up simply because I was afraid of how difficult they might be.
Including one that could have changed the entire direction of my life.
The Navy, My Dad, and My Great Fear of Running
Toward the end of high school, I started thinking about college and big-girl jobs, I briefly considered following in my dad’s footsteps and joining the Navy.
I’ve always been wildly patriotic and deeply supportive of our military.
When I was little, I remember my dad serving in the Navy Reserve. He had transitioned from active duty before eventually leaving the service after my sisters were born and he was needed more at home.
He would tell stories about his training.
Running.
Treading water fully clothed, boots and all.
Running.
Spending freezing nights in the mountains eating frozen canned food.
And more running.
Honestly, of all the things he described, it was the running that scared me the most.
Not the freezing mountains. Not the physically demanding training. Not the possibility of being sent somewhere dangerous.
The running.
It wasn’t until much later that I learned my dad had served as a Navy corpsman attached to a Marine reconnaissance unit, undergoing training far more demanding than I would have experienced.
And there I was, letting the thought of running influence a major life decision.
Looking back, it’s almost comical.
I was willing to change the entire direction of my future to avoid something I now voluntarily wake up at ridiculous hours to do.
For fun.
FOR FUN.
The Lesson I Wish I’d Learned Earlier
Here’s the part that really gets me.
I don’t have many regrets in life. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family, fulfilling experiences and a path that has brought me to a place I’m genuinely grateful to be.
But I do regret some of the times I let the fear of difficulty make decisions for me.
I didn’t understand then what I understand now:
Discipline produces rewards that motivation alone never could.
And pushing beyond what you think you’re capable of builds a kind of resilience that follows you into other areas of life.
Running has taught me that.
Not because every run is magical. Trust me, some runs are downright miserable.
But because I’ve learned that I can do hard things.
I can keep going when I’m uncomfortable.
I can make progress even when it feels painfully slow.
And sometimes, the thing that feels impossible today becomes something you genuinely look forward to tomorrow.
That’s a lesson I wish I’d understood when I was fifteen.
Or eighteen.
Or twenty-five.
But I needed to take the long way around to appreciate it.
Funny How Life Comes Full Circle
Sometimes I wonder if my life was supposed to follow a different route.
Maybe one with fewer detours. Fewer challenges. Fewer years spent avoiding something that would eventually become such an important part of who I am.
But I also know that the path I’ve taken has brought me exactly where I am today.
And I like it here.
I like the discipline I’ve developed. I like the strength I’ve gained. I like the confidence that comes from accomplishing things I once thought were impossible.
And I especially love the joy running brings into my life.
These days, I actively look for opportunities to run.
When I have to take a few days off for recovery, I feel like something is missing.
Which is pretty remarkable considering I once structured my extracurricular activities—and potentially my career choices—around avoiding it.
I spent the first part of my life running away from running.
And now?
I can’t wait for my next run.
What Does This Mean for You?
I hear people say it all the time:
“I hate running.”
“I’m not a runner.”
“I could never do that.”
And listen, maybe running genuinely isn’t your thing.
That’s okay!
I’m not suggesting everyone needs to sign up for a marathon. Frankly, that would make race registration even more difficult for the rest of us.
But I do want you to consider two things.
First, movement is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving our health.
Regular physical activity supports cardiovascular health, muscle and bone strength, mental well-being and healthy aging.
And you don’t need to run thirteen marathons to experience those benefits.
Walking, hiking, dancing, cycling, swimming, strength training—there are so many ways to move your body and improve your health.
Second, don’t let the fear of something difficult convince you that it’s not for you.
Maybe you’ll never love running.
Or maybe you haven’t given yourself the chance to discover what you’re capable of.
Maybe there’s a form of movement you’ve been curious about but haven’t tried because you think you’re too old, too out of shape or too busy.
Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be terrible at it.
I was terrible at high jump.
And running.
Look how that turned out.
You don’t have to be good at something to begin.
You just have to be willing to begin.
And who knows?
Maybe the thing you’ve been avoiding is the very thing that changes your life.
I help busy women find space in their lives for healthy choices, and movement is always part of that conversation.
Whether you’re ready to lace up your running shoes or simply want to figure out how to move more in the middle of an already packed schedule, I’d love to help you find a starting point that works for you.
Sign up for a free 30-minute wellness assessment call HERE.
We’ll talk about where you are, where you’d like to go and how to take that first step.
Because you never know where that first step might lead.
Mine led to thirteen marathons.
And counting.
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