Why I Run

I run to find the in-betweens. I run to fly, to soar, to feel weightless, immaterial. I run to feel my feet on the ground, feel the earth rise up to meet me with each long stride. I run to feel strong and powerful, capable of pushing myself faster, farther, harder than each time before. I run to feel week; humbled by the endless trail and space the earth provides and my own relative insignificance. I run to put myself and my own body in perspective, lining up at a starting line racing only wind, dirt, and water. I run for community, to connect with others who seek fast fellowship on the trails and roads. I run to be alone, to throw myself forward into the silence of earliest mornings, and late nights with only the sound of my feet and the faintest shadow. I run to go places, to travel swiftly and efficiently from place to place. I run to wander, to go nowhere and everywhere with only the strength of my own two feet. I run to think, to ponder myriad questions with the utmost clarity that only running can grant. I run to clear my mind, to obliterate the thoughts that crowd and clutter my mind. It is in this space that I find myself- the crossroads of strength and weakness, communion and solitude, thought and emptiness. That is why I run.