Every time I sit down in front of my comp to write a post and start writing it, I stop about halfway through and think why am I writing this and where was I going with it?

Well this time… this time, I am actually writing because someone posed a lame question in one of my facebook groups — one of those questions that everyone asks and I imagine they do it for inspiration or because they have lost their running mojo and are trying to remember why they started running or something… idunno.

So the question that was asked: “why do you run?”

My response: So that I don’t throat punch people. Period.

I know you all are shocked by this response from me, BUT yknow, not really. Well, funny story.. My running partner and I had a conversation about running when we were out on the trails the other day and she was telling me she didn’t want to race the long distances anymore. I don’t know what that means for the 50 miler we are signed up for in March — I may end up running it alone, which is totally fine. I will say, as she was telling me she didn’t want to race these distances anymore, I started thinking about why I wanted to…

The conclusion I came to: with all of the medical shit popping up in my family (cancer, car crashes, extensive and in-depth surgeries), one thing after another over the last 2 months, it has pushed me harder to do more, be more, and push more. I find that as I watch other people’s bodies degrade and attack themselves, I want to push mine further to see what it can do… after numerous years of soccer and several surgeries myself, battling back from the depths of the darkest places this world knows… you name it, I have seen it. The pain most people experience in eight lifetimes, is what I have experienced thus far, in my short 35 years on this earth.

So when I find that I can push myself physically and mentally to see what I am made of, I ask where do I sign? 

I guess because while I do it so I don’t throat punch people, yes, I also do it for those who can’t; I do it for the person I was in the corner of a dark room doing some really dumb shit; I do it for the person I can be; I do it for the broken people, for the ones who don’t ask for help; for the ones who are afraid; I do it for my kid; but most importantly I do it for ME.

To prove to me that I can.

What can I say? I love a challenge.