and i remembered why i started running on my own again outside of cross country.

the stress melts away. everything that’s going wrong takes a turn for the better for that hour’s worth of time that i spend running.

and i feel free. it feels so good to just free-run and expend energy and feel the wind and feel the power in my legs and the heat in my lungs and the sub-bass beat of my heart. my legs pounding into the ground and letting go of all control almost to the point where i topple over from my own momentum. i feel wild, i feel strong, i feel blissfully content.

and it’s funny because everyone else i talk to hates running. yeah it’s hard—but there are things in life that are a lot harder to deal with than sore butt muscles, fo shua.

i think all runners share this mentality. there’s a kind of innate connection with runners you can’t find anywhere else. you pass a runner on the road and you both smile at each other, in an unspoken greeting that says, “we endure pain together, you and i. pain for the sake of our overall well-being, and that makes us kindred spirits. stay strong, and good luck wherever your nikes take you.”