My Running Story

I run almost every day. Most people react as if running is just not their thing, and never want to try it. I’m not surprised, because I used to be one of those people. During my entire life, I did not know there were people who ran just for fun. Now come to think about it, I knew that there were some people who ran for a hobby, but I never had a chance to see one in Korea. I think that’s because we all grow up in the same circumstances if you are a typical Korean student. Every single student goes on the same routine – going to school, study after school, go to bed. No time to work out or play sports for fun.

The first time I actually spotted someone running for fun at a close distance was when I was staying in Berkeley for 2018 summer session. We had this ‘group’ from all different countries who all came to Berkeley just for summer as a study abroad program. Marie, a girl from Germany, was a run maniac. The first thing she talked about herself was that she was a huge runner. Every day, she texted in the group chat ‘anybody for run?’ and even if no one was interested, she kept running every single day during her stay in Berkeley. She even enrolled for San Francisco 10k Marathon and got a finish medal for it. Until then, however, I was not interested in running. I just thought that it was a great hobby for a person like Marie, but I didn’t get the joy of it.

Then, I met Marie again in London the same year. She was studying at a college in London, and I went to England for one semester as an exchange student. As we met, I asked her if she was still running in London and she indeed said yes. Then, she told me that she was going to enroll for the upcoming London City Run sponsored by Addidas. I wanted to give it a try, just for fun because I wanted to challenge myself to various activities I had not done before in a new country like England. On the big day of London City Run, I ran 10km without pause in 55 minutes and was able to finish my first-in-a-lifetime run. I was overwhelmed, amazed, and filled with joy at the fact that I actually finished the run without giving up in the middle. I was sweating a lot, and my faces were red as a beet, but I just loved the whole thing. After experiencing runner’s high, running became my hobby. Luckily, my flat mates were all interested in running so I just did the same thing what Marie did in Berkeley. I formed a run group and ran together. I would definitely say that running is the best way to explore the city. I can list so many advantages of running, but the most important part is, you should be the one who can feel the joy. Why not start running?

#fitness #health #running #run