Finding New Joy in Running or How 100 Miles is the Best Therapy

This past August I signed up for my second 100 mile running race - the inaugural running of the Hood Hundred. (I would highly recommend the race to anyone - Daybreak Racing did a fantastic job.) Ahead of the arrival of our second kiddo, I wanted to get in one more big effort and prove to myself that the first 100 I completed was not a fluke.

Luckily, I got the thing done. What stands out most about the experience is how it highlighted how my relationship with running has changed. My enjoyment of running has shifted from being performance-based (i.e. place and time) to experience based (curiosity). I now enjoy running for the sake of running in a way I never have. The act of running does not have to be in service of “training” or a race. It has been a good reminder that not every activity in my life needs to have outcomes and goals attached to it.

Happy running.