Why I love running
Even though I don't always want to
Running is a strange pursuit. Most often in that pursuit, I’m not actually in pursuit, which would be a sensible reason to run, but maybe I am chasing something - a feeling, a realisation, maybe some sense of clarity. Sometimes it feels less like I’m chasing, but wandering, as when running, these positive reminders find me as often as I find them. I’ll try and list a few of them below.
It’s Simple
As you might be able to tell already, running brings out the philosophical in me. There’s something special about it. Maybe the very bare nature of it forces me to create something grand out of the experience myself. In any case, as someone who spent years driving, rigging, fundraising, cleaning, fixing, assembling bits and pieces just to get out, sit down in a boat, and go backwards, the simplicity of lacing up a pair of shoes, rubbing sleep out of your eyes, and setting off at a stiff jaunt really appeals to me.
It makes me feel my age
Beau Miles, a modern philosopher I am guilty of quoting often (check out Beau here: https://www.youtube.com/c/BeauMiles) recently said “to run is to feel your age.” Beau’s 42. I agree with him. I’m a mere 24 years old, and running in the park recently, I realised that right now, running reminds me what my body is still capable of. Every old codger I pass, battling their way round Maungakiekie (under the shade of those trees in the included painting from Mejun Evans)
with a grimace and a tramping pole, reminds me it won’t always be so capable. Use it or lose it is a good mantra here…
A shit hour running beats a shit hour doing something else (usually)
Even a bad run doesn’t feel like a waste of time, but when they do happen, you still get something out of it. I’ve had my second-hand copy of Born to Run playing on vinyl while writing this, and Jungleland has been skipping back and forth pretty badly. But you can bet I’m still jamming out to it.
It never takes much
Usually the difference between going for a run and not is the decision to lace up your shoes and step out the door, so the bar is low for procrastination. 20 minutes running is like a long coffee break at work, so making honest excuses to yourself about not having enough time is a pretty difficult campaign most days.
It gets you off your screen
One from a real runner here, my friend Benjamin Ironman Pretty, who recently remarked on running’s ability to separate you from the digital world and drag you, against your own will, into the real one, breathing fresh air, seeing new things, and having your own thoughts, unpolluted from the chaos of the bright rectangle of doom. It’s even better if you can have the odd trot where the headphones aren’t charged too, and you can pick up a whole new world of sound outside.
So we’ve come across five neat little reasons why I like running. I’m not sure I really knew what they would be when I started writing this, but reading back, it all makes sense. This experiment could be off to a good start.
Thanks for reading. Go for a run for me this week.
James