Run Along!

Tomorrow marks the 123rd running of the Boston Marathon. I love spectating because I'm inspired by the diversity of shapes and sizes and ages of the runners. I love cheering them on, calling out whatever words they are wearing, and wishing them well. Talk about good vibes, and boy can I use a dose of running positivity this year. Even though tomorrow's going to be crappy, wet weather, I'm in!

I started jogging in the first half of my 20’s because I couldn’t quit smoking. I needed a good habit to replace a bad one (I’d come across that idea somewhere), and jogging fit the bill. My little sister had run cross-country in high school and college. She inspired me to try it. I bought a training book and a new pair of sneakers. The book helped me set mild, attainable distance goals that involved lots of walking. It suggested keeping a log. Like learning to play the guitar, there was an early period of callus-building that was mildly painful. I also remember feeling dizzy. But within a few weeks I was truly off the cigarettes, which I’d tried to quit MANY times before.

The health benefits of running are well documented, but there are a few other reasons you might want to give it a try.

Love/Cheap Date. The first time I met Jena (at a brewpub), I quickly ferreted out that she was a runner. In fact, she was going to be running in a long overnight relay in a week or so. So I asked her if she’d like to jog together that week. She agreed. To me, it was a date. We talked as we ran around a lovely hilltop community in the Pacific Northwest, but it didn’t feel forced because we were both staring ahead, not at each other. When you run, silence is okay too. I remember the lovely sound of her slightly labored breathing, and the beginning of falling in love. Two decades later, we still run together – not all the time, but enough. It’s a common bond, wonderful because it’s exercise that doesn’t pit you against each other; some of our best talks and most intimate moments have been while jogging across some new town or landmark. If I hadn’t been a runner, I would have missed out on Jena.

Isolation. If, at the core, you’re a loner like me, running is sweet relief. My job as a teacher wasn’t built for introverts, so a nice solo run helps me recharge. Sometimes I’ll catch up on podcasts or the news. Often I’ll play music as I go. I find that my best creative thinking happens when I’m in the monotonous, rhythmic pace of a good long run. Then I can re-join the rest of the world and feel like myself.

Community. There’s a community of runners and although many of us are introverted, I love the acknowledgement, the nod, the understated wave that runners do when we pass each other on the streets. I love encouraging new runners, and comparing notes with established ones on local routes and hideaways. Then there’s the uplifting community feeling at the starting line at any public race – from 5K to marathon. It’s a feeling of love and light. Jena and I ran one marathon together, in Los Angeles, and at the starting line the man beside me dropped to a knee and proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted right in front of us and the joy of that moment radiated among all us fellow travelers. The memory helped propel me forward twenty miles later when my hips started feeling like rusty hinges.

Power. The badass feeling is wonderful, especially when you’re running in rain or snow and cars drive by and you can see the pity/envy in the driver’s eyes thinking: that guy’s nuts and you say to yourself: Heck yeah! Plus, you get the dopamine rush. And the best feeling is when you’ve gotten a good run out of the way early. The rest of the day is cake.

Curiosity. When you’re a runner, you get street-level views everywhere you go. It’s a great way to get a sense of a place, especially now that we have smart phone GPS technology for back up. It’s fun, when you’re on a trip, to start the day with a meandering jog. You might find a restaurant that looks cool for later, or a beautiful spot you can share with the others. Reconnaissance. You get a sense of the people too, and I find that it gives me confidence. I don’t know why, but the more I venture out for a jog, the more venturesome I become. Someday I’d like to write about my favorite jogs, but one that comes quickly to mind is the one I took with my dad in Nairobi on our first day there in the fall of 1997. You can be completely out of your element, sponging up information, while seemingly fitting in because you’re just taking a jog. It’s what you do!

So if you want nice lungs and legs, and something to do with your idle hands, give running a shot. The benefits go way beyond health. Like any other practice, eventually it stops being something you do and becomes something you are, and when you tell someone you’re a runner, they’ll take it to mean that you show up, you try, you persist.

Oh, and since 2013, when the moronic marathon bombers tried to mess with our bleeping city, attending the marathon on Patriots Day has had a political overtone too. When you go, you take a stand. Your presence says you won't be cowed by misguided clowns with weapons.

If you're interested (and especially for new runners) run along with my show, "Run Along!" It's on Spotify: seven songs I wrote especially for kids to get them moving -- but they work for adults too!