It’s hard to not feel inspired when you open your social media pages to see swarms of posts about a big marathon – whether it’s in Boston, Chicago, or most recently, Los Angeles. Over 27,000 individuals signed up to run 26.2 miles on March 8.
After a marathon, TikTok floods with inspirational stories, people line up with encouraging and funny signs, and overall, the community is brought together. Less than 1% of the world’s population will ever complete a marathon in their lifetime, and I don’t anticipate being one of those individuals. However, for multiple years of my life, I considered myself a runner. My relationship with running has been complicated ever since I ran cross country in high school, and now that I’m in college, I’m contemplating a return.
In middle school, you couldn’t have paid me to run a mile. Seriously, I once broke down in tears after an 800 meter run with my dad and brother. But after a year of track and field my freshman year, I turned my sights to cross country. When I initially joined cross country, I was motivated by a common cause of many high schooler’s actions: peer pressure and the presence of my friends. Running quickly became one of the staples in my daily routine. Over the summer, I would run in the mornings, and in the fall, right after school. The habit had various benefits but also certain drawbacks.Â
Right now, it seems like so many people are very into running. It feels aesthetic, consistent, and overall a great way to keep your body moving. In high school, I loved running because of how well it cleared my head, the supportive aspect of my team and competing, as well as the runner’s high. However, the pressure to constantly become faster can quickly become overwhelming. It’s a fine line between wanting to better yourself and taking something too seriously.
After high school, I fell away from running. Not entirely purposefully, but it was a mix of not putting aside enough time for it, being burnt out, and also being too exhausted to continue after the end of seasons.Â
Now that I have spent two quarters at UCLA, I feel ready to integrate more into my daily routine, and for me, that might be running. Surrounded by people who run for fun and not by obligation, I have become nostalgic for the time in my life where running was a relief and not a stressor. Many of my acquaintances run to challenge themselves subtly, without the same levels of bragging and dependence on the hobby as many people in my past did.
Running can be something that doesn’t have to take over your life, but simply be there to serve as alone time, exercise, or stress relief. Although I’m scared to go back to training and working up my endurance and stamina, I’m excited to see how running can serve as something new in my life.