“Running teaches me that I am capable of so much more than I ever imagined” a quote by anonymous. Running is hard. Like really hard, but running has been around for so long. It has been used by the very earliest of people to run for miles just to catch an animal and kill it for food. So it's definitely not something everyone hasn’t used to do something. Running to me is a time to think, be calm, talk to friends, and be happy. Then also when you get to running for a while and you do a race, then you get to go fast and you can realize how fast you can go. Running can help you do so many things, great things.

Running is something I care a lot about. It can be something to help you in many different ways. Running to me is a run, where I can basically be calm and only worry about myself. Running around the halls of Wilson or on the track. All I have to do is not think about pain or anything bad. I can think about what to do next, what I want to do after my run, or even during my run if I am going top fast, too slow, or just a good pace. It is exactly like a good night sleep, to be able to rest and just do whatever to get ready for whatever is next. Except after running you tend to get really tired and sweaty so also not like a good night of rest. When I run I push myself to the max if that's what it takes to get rid of whatever is on my mind and feel free of it for however long I can keep my body going, before I stop and fall on the ground, doesn’t matter if I am on the track, on the streets, or in the middle of nowhere you can keep going to get better. When I need to run because I can’t stand everything around me, no matter how much my body and mind are saying, “STOP!” and “GET SOME WATER!” I have to tell myself that I gotta keep going, no matter what. No stopping, until I either pass out or finish. Running has brought me to a place where I will have to keep going, whether I am sprinting or struggling to crawl up a hill you can always keep going. It can really help your mindset if you really have it in you. If you have a runner’s mindset it's amazing. Because to have a runner’s mindset you don’t have to keep going all the time and run 5 miles a day, it is really just to go and help you keep going to make you do what you before thought was impossible. And if anything is to prove it, I am writing this whole paper with a runner’s mindset basically and it has helped me to keep going no matter what has been going through my head. It makes you act positive and happier and makes you more hardworking, it is a great thing and I love it so much.

Running has also changed my life. It made me from being a 200 pound sack of potatoes, to a taller, 150 pound body of muscle and dedication to get faster and stronger to get as far as I can with running. In my seventh grade year my friend Thanakorn made me run Cross Country with him. I hated it and only ran two races. It was like torture. It felt like I was running a 1000 miles a day. But I got done with that and then I decided to do track in the spring. I wish I did better, but I almost quit, I was a sprinter which I still suck at. I ran the 200 Meter race and whatever else they put me in. I finished off that season and tried to football. So over the summer I went to the high school to train for summer workouts and didn’t want to do the football part, so I did the Cross Country training hoping to just get faster or anything. It really grew on me and I started to love it. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of pain and new shoes, but I got a lot better and lost weight. So then Cross Country season started and I decided to join. It was a lot of running, and so I put myself through pain and agony every single day. Somehow though, it pulled me in. I decided I would run track the next season too. But Coach Gaard decided he would make me come to morning workouts every morning and train. So after I tried getting out of it, he picked me up. Every single day of the year, from the end of Cross Country, all winter, and then through Track season. I got really strong and really fast. I was able to be put in almost any single race and win. But after everyone else joined track at the beginning, they would need more long distance because a lot of person could only hold a sprint. So I did basically every long distance race with a few others and even broke a record twice. So I finished off my eighth grade year the greatest it could have been. People respected me for my speed and endurance and it was a great time. So then I have done my first year of Cross Country in highschool and it was rough. But now i'm counting down the days until Track.

Another person who was big on running and already been encouraging me to get better was my coach. I asked him how he feels about running and how he loves to run and how it changed his life. Here is what he responded with this:

“I run for multiple reasons:
1. I run because I am competitive and each day I run I am in a competition with myself. Each time I run I have the opportunity to make myself better.
2. I run because it's healthy and I feel better.
3. I run because it is freeing. When I run I have the opportunity to reflect and think about what is going on in my life. When I have problems, I run to prove to myself that I can overcome anything that life throws at me.
4. I run because it's fun and I love the feeling of completing a new PR, whether it's a new fastest time or longest distance.”

He has ran for many years but never really ran for a purpose and now he does and he trains Steven, and I and many others to find the passion for running to get much better and to find the love for it. Coach Gaard has trained me through track practice basically everyday and was the most powerful. Making me go through everything that I didn’t want to and was basically afraid of.

I also had decided to ask one of my great friends Steven Duane's, how he was changed by running, and how he felt. He was one of my greatest friends during our track season and he was one who really helped me to keep going. Steven and I want to be the best milers that we can be. So here is what he had said “Reason I love to run, I love to run because I am good at it. Running is something I do when I have problems, my problems are the reason why I'm so good running. I leave it all behind on the track or just when I run, I push myself till I can't breath, when my body says to stop I run even faster. Running is something that helps me through my problems, it helps me take stuff easy, whenever I'm upset but I don't want to talk about it to anyone, I put my running gear on and I leave it all behind me. Why is running so important to me? Because there are people who believe in me and think I can be a great runner so for them and myself I push myself and I will not stop till I am where I want to be.”  He is one of the only other people my age, in my grade that is really helped by running. We see a future in running and we strain yourself everyday to get better and be faster and do better. We want to be the best we can be and so we want to do everything we can to do it.

Many quotes even make me want to go and do better. Much, much better. My coach had and still always says “ If you really want to win, you gotta want it before, during and after the race because then you will. “  It makes me really think all the time especially when I am so close to the finish line it helps. At my first track meet He screamed “ YOU BETTER WANT IT!” So then I was in 5th place entering the final lap and more than 100 meters behind, just hearing him say that made me pick up the pace and somehow a finish in 2nd place. When you really want something, you will get it. Another one for beginners that really provided me the encouragement when I started was “ Doesn’t matter if you are running for first, or last. If you finished, you finished. You should feel proud no matter what.” That really makes me so happy because it goes to show that you can do it. You might not be the best, but you can do it, and having the hard work to do it at first, will lead you to the success that you are looking for in your future. You will get there with that mindset. It is an amazing thing and I love it so much. For another quote that I really like is by “John Bingham - The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” That is something that really makes  me think about how so many people will say “But it’s too hard”, “ it won’t help”, and “It won't be fun”. But really if you just starts, it might be hard, but when you get the courage to keep going, then you can really go and not stop for anything that you will be in your way. Having the bravery to start is one of the biggest fears that can change your life the most. Because then you will be able to say, “Yeah let's go!” Right away and not stop for anyone, or anything after that.

Running to me, is a great paradise that helps. I can go as fast as I want, set a personal record, and do whatever I need, and want to do without caring about anyone else because I can and will do whatever it leads me to. “ I run because somehow completely exhausting myself is the most relaxing part of my day” That quote speaks so true to everything. Because with school and work and friends all causing troubles and worrying me so much, I can go run and somehow, I am crazy enough to do that and run like so many miles and just not care and still be the most relaxed I will ever be anywhere else. I love it and it helps me to keep going no matter what happens. So I don’t care if you really like my story, or if you hate running, I just ask not to care and be hating on if someone like me is a runner, because to us we see it differently and as a way to escape and get away from everyone else and be happy with ourselves and what we accomplish. You don’t have to like running, but just don’t bring runner’s down because we work really hard for what we do and saying “you suck” and “You’ll never be a great runner or good at anything” then it really can just be hurtful and no one really wants that. So just don’t mind people if they love to run. If you happen to be a runner I hope you liked it and keep running!