Why do i run?

Big Bad Had, during my 2nd 1/2 marathon

The simple, short answer is; so I can eat. When I was younger the only way you could get me to do anything, or at least anything I didn’t really want to do was to promise me a treat upon completion. My brother, stood at the bottom of the high dive at Sequoia with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts as an incentive for me to take the plunge, walks to the park with Sarah happened because I knew there was a 20 piece nugget meal waiting for me under that golden McDonalds arch. It’s common knowledge to people who know me that I run so I can eat.

headband with my moto on it " I run so i can eat" for my 3rd 1/2 marathon

I remember very vividly the first race I ever did. It was the Rudolph 5k in Nashville, with my whole family – there’s a picture that is engrained in my mind of me literally being dragged, each parent holding an arm, during the race. The look on my face said, I hate this and both of you for making me do this.

I didn’t start running, until high school and even then I was lucky if I made it a mile. I kept a running journal of my times, which route I ran, and the time of day, striving each day to get a little faster than the one before. I’ve struggled with weight my whole life, but when my feet hit that pavement, I feel light as a feather.

I didn’t fall in love with running until about 2 years ago. The past 2 years have been a tough time for me, emotionally and aside from finding comfort in friends and family, running provided me with an outlet for my frustrations and hurt, a goal for me to strive for, and a sense of accomplishment I never thought possible. If I go more than a few days without running, I start to miss it and yearn to be out there just me and my ipod pushing myself to go a little further each time.

after my very first 1/2 marathon

Twenty years ago, if you had said that girl in the picture, being dragged by her parents would be running her first marathon in October I would have said there’s no way in hell! Well, at the end of my marathon it may take both my parents each dragging one of my arms across that finish line, but the look on my face will tell a totally different story than that of 6 year old Hadley, it will say, I run because I love it.