I ran my first mile on December 14, 2024 at the age of 33. This was the furthest I had ever run without stopping in my life.
I’ve
written before about my journey with exercise and how it transformed my life. In the middle of 2024, however, I found myself in a rut with exercise. I wasn’t motivated any more and I didn’t find it enjoyable. I knew it was necessary for my overall mental and physical health, but would never do it if I felt like I had to.
In the fall, I traveled to cheer on my sister as she ran her first half marathon. I thought she was one of those weird running people now. I was happy to support her, but had no desire to try something like that. I leaned into jokes that I would never run on purpose, only if chased. Running as a mom of two seemed like the worst type of exercise for me: it was too bouncy, I’d have to be outside where other people could see me running painfully slowly, it would hurt my knees.
That was until I stood at the finish line seeing other people cross the finish line on a chilly mountainous Pennsylvania fall morning. I saw a mom around my age and size cross the finish line and hug her partner and infant with relief. I texted my sister with encouragement as she was so close to the finish line but struggled to get up a nasty hill. Then, she crossed and she collapsed into her partner, arms around their neck, forgetting that a volunteer was trying to hand her a completion medal. Then we, my sister, her partner, and two of their friends gathered for a sweaty, exhausted group hug.
I wanted that. I wanted the sense of accomplishment. I wanted that connection with a support system. Now that I’ve completed a lot of my other goals, I wanted something to celebrate. I wanted to have that moment of collapsing into my support system at a finish line. I wanted to feel strong and capable and at home in my body. I wanted to celebrate me and lean into that I was someone worth celebrating. Running seemed too hard for me and that’s exactly why I needed to do it.
It was a slow process. Shortly before I was supposed to run my first 5k race, I got pneumonia and was unable to run for weeks. I was so defeated. For weeks during my training, I walked more than I ran. But eventually, over the course of months, I trained to be able to run more than six miles without stopping – and without being chased. For the first time in my life, I felt like an athlete.
Now I can’t stop talking about how running has changed my relationship with my body and my mind. I know running isn’t the best sport for everyone, but everyone can find something they need in running. It’s a mental and physical challenge.
That’s why I invite the Southern Maryland community to join me at the
CalvertHealth Foundation's Breast Cancer 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Sheldon E. Goldberg Center for Breast Care on October 18 as part of my team, Running on Purpose. This team will consist of people new to running, running together at a beginner-friendly pace between 15 and 16 minutes per mile. We can encourage each other the whole way and rejoice in our individual and group accomplishments while realizing the huge mental and physical health benefits of this sport.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll post more blogs about my lessons learned as a beginner runner to encourage you along your journey, whether you sign up for this race, or another one.
Click here to join the team:
Running on Purpose - Team Registration