I was recently asked why I would ever run a Marathon.   This person must not know that I actually signed up for a 50K, but that is a different story.   They were wondering why I would ever want to run a marathon especially a trail one where I ran over six and a half hours.   My answer is complicated and yet simple at the same time.

Let’s be honest, everyone has their thing.   Everyone has something that someone else might look at and question, “Why?”

Some don’t understand the drawl of Crossfit, Spinning, hot Yoga, biking, or the many other types of exercises available.   They might not be for you, but I bet they are for someone else.

So my question is why not?

What does it matter what someone wants to do?    They do not need our approval.   Probably aren’t even looking for it.   We are all grown ups here.  As long as we are not doing anything illegal or that is hurting someone,  to each their own I say.   This is one of the things that make the world so wonderful.   We are all different.   We all follow our own paths.   Even those of us with similar paths do not follow the same one.

Now sometimes people will ask why because they might not be able to wrap their head around why anyone would want to run for hours on end.   I will say that it is really not something that I can explain either.   I run these distances not only for the challenges of them, but also many other reasons.   The feeling of accomplishment afterwards is awesome, yet there is more to it than that.    I run them because I actually like to run them.   Yes, maybe not ever second of every run yet still….   There are times that you get into a rhythm with your feet, your breathing, your mind and you just keep going because it’s perfect.   There is truth in the runners high.  It is why we keep coming back for more.

Some things in life must be experienced to fully understand.   Like someone trying to explain to you what being a parent feels like.   It is something that is intangible till experienced.   I can tell you about the peace running brings me. The calmness felt after a good run.  The joy of crossing a finish line. The pride in having done something and many other things that running  brings no matter what the distance.   It still isn’t enough.   Some things in life must be felt to understand.   This is why runners as a whole usually stand (or run) together.

We know what most people won’t know until they experience it themselves is that

Running is Aweome

Amazing

Calming

and

Bad@ss!

So my question is not why?

My question is why not?