Why. (3 of 3)

So the Why. blogs have tried to tell you about my motivations for committing to the arduous task of running this marathon.  First I tried to explain why running goes with charities, and then I tried to explain why I chose this particular charity.  Today I tell you why I run.  

Many of you who know me from my middle and high school days know that I was a swimmer and didn't much care for running.  That was true right up until I moved to Boston, and then something new happened. 

Peer pressure.

I fell in with a group of great people who were runners and one night at Charlie's Kitchen we got to talking about one of my new friends marathon training and that's when I realized that nearly everyone around the table had already run one.  In that moment I knew that there was nothing that I could do that would equal the experience that they all shared - except to run a marathon.  Later that year the opportunity came up and I knew I had to try.  

So peer pressure is what got me started, but that won't get you across the finish line and then into another race.  What is it that keeps me running?  It's simple really.

I run because I want to live.

I want to live to be 100 and I don't want to have to rely on medical science alone to get me there.  I know that one of the secrets to a long life and healthy mind is staying physically active, and running is the best way that I've yet found to do that.  Swimming and biking are great, but require an extra level of preparation that in the past have kept me from doing them on a regular basis.  Running gets me up and going, and as a bonus I often get to see parts of the world that I wouldn't normally.  Things like; sunrise, sunset, Venus, a waning Moon, ice-covered trees, budding trees, house demolition, house construction, bag pipes, installation art - all of the ebb and flow of the world that I live in.  It also gives me time to touch base with all of the great runner buddies that I have, most especially the one who sicced the peer pressure to run on me in the first place (I'm looking at you Bec).  And it is something that I can constantly improve on and use to give myself another challenge, which is how we prosper in life.  I intend to cross that finish line tomorrow, and it will not be easy, but knowing that it is one part of a larger journey, life, makes it a tiny bit better.

As always, I love you all and appreciate your support of me, my family, and the Liver Foundation.  Please be safe in your lives and your endeavors, if you think of me tomorrow please wish me luck, but know that what I do is easier than what many others have to on a daily basis.  

Now you know Why.

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