I am not a runner. Chicken legs, a curved spine and the desire to watch a marathon of Orange Is the New Black on Netflix over running down the block is not the makings of a Kenyan running the marathon in under an hour. BUT just think, if the girl who didn’t make track in 7th grade—yes apparently track is THAT important at that age—can participate in the Quad City Marathon, then you can, too.
Now don’t get too excited, I in no way ran the marathon. I in no way even ran the half marathon. But I did participate in the Marathon Relay with a few of my friends to be able to post that picture on Instagram saying, “Hey guys look who did something productive today and you didn’t!”
What helped me through the Marathon Relay was doing it for a cause. So besides finishing my first race, I gained some good karma by running FTK (For The Kids) in the Miracle Miles program through Dance Marathon. Now I won’t make this about Dance Marathon—I could go on and on about how great it is and you should totally join us in wearing orange and helping kiddos—this is about running.
Okay, before you go back to creeping around on Facebook or seeing how many favorites your tweet about hating group projects got because talking about running is about as exciting as the line on chicken nugget day, hear me out. You should 100% totally participate in a race at some point in your life just to say that you did it! As cheesy as it sounds, participating in my first race was an amazing experience that makes you feel like you’re apart of something bigger than yourself. I’ve already signed up for another 5k in November—the Hot Chocolate 5k Downtown Chicago (Free hot chocolate, hellooo)—and I couldn’t be more excited!
Start off with something super simple like a 5k (3.2 miles). I know it sounds like a lot when you haven’t ran since they forced you to do the mile in gym class in high school, but if I can do it, you can do it. Start pinning beginners running tips to your Pinterst board and take a jog around Vander Veer a few times a week. By the time the race is about to happen, you’ll be more ready than you think.
I hate to say it, but once you get past the hating your life feeling, running is addicting and a good stress reliever. It also makes for a good study excuse because technically, you’re still being productive.
So before you grab a pumpkin spice latté and snuggle up to Netflix, take a jog outside, sign up for a race and cross something off your bucket list.