I have come to believe that my love of running is not natural, and is actually an acquired love.  However, as many have found, once the relationship has begun it becomes a part of you and is hard to deny.  As I talk with many people about my favorite thing, running, I find that many do not share my love.  I have even had someone outright state they would rather be fat than to run. (Add another idiot to the list.)  That was very harsh words for me to hear someone say, and made me want to give them the ole “coulda had a V8” head slap. (It took much restraint.)

Upon further consideration I have to honestly say that I understand the rejection people feel toward running if they are not already runners.  It is not easy to run.  In fact it is painful, tiring, and demanding on many fronts ranging from time to money to relationships.  To someone who is not a “runner” it is simply not worth the trouble.  In their mind they wonder why on earth someone would want to waste the hours each week needed to train, spend money on the clothing and shoes needed, and dedicating even more time away from friends and loved ones when society already demands that we spend so little time with them as it is.

I have been a runner all of my life (mostly “on” instead of “off”), but really have never broken 10 miles per week until this past year.  Sure, I always liked to run and that made the move to increase my running a bit easier than for most.  I developed the love while I was young, and the glow has never really dimmed even though it never really sprouted into a full fire until recently.  However, I have witnessed others that had a much harder time.  I know others that hated running, and felt there was no such thing as a “good” run.  For them running was just something they did to help keep their weight down, or because they needed to improve their fitness for some other activity.  Then after deciding to increase their dedication for one reason or another they realized that it’s not so bad.  It may not be “love” for them, but it is much more acceptable, and made them almost look forward to the run each day.  Eventually perhaps these people will also come to “love” running like those of us who “get it”

I guess I decided to write this post because I see hope (or perhaps I needed to validate my insanity by creating hope) that others really don’t “hate” running, and instead simply misunderstand the relationship.  Maybe once someone actually feels the “runners high” it changes them, or at least helps them to be more understanding of those of us that already love running.  (“Hi, my name is Adam and I’m a run-a-holic.”  Then the crowd says, “Hello Adam”.)