If you’ve run a marathon, you know there comes a moment when you think, “and I PAID to do this?!” For me, it was mile 24. The icy hot wasn’t hitting like it used to, the downhill section was now far behind me, and the sun was not-so-subtly reminding me that I was running in a desert (St. George, UT).

And yet, the next day, I signed up for another marathon (despite my declaration when I hit the finish line that I was NEVER going to do that again).

People ask me all the time when they find out that I run, “How do you like running?” or proclaim “I could never do that; I hate running.” And here brings us to the secret I hate to tell you: I don’t like running either.

My feelings about running are best depicted through the words on of my brother’s high school cross country t-shirt (pictured below): “Running Sucks.” But the irony is his whole cross country team sporting these t-shirts while they were running. Running sucks…

(^my brother & I running a marathon. sibling power.)

So at this point, it’s only fair to be asking yourself why does this chick run if she doesn’t even like it. And why would I ever run if it’s just going to always suck?

The thing about running (and life for that matter… too deep?) is that some days you will hate and some days will be completely neutral and some days you will feel in love with it all! So while yes, running does suck, it is also beautiful and wonderful.

Why Running is Actually Awesome Sometimes

Forces living in the present:

On my last 2 (painful!) miles of my marathon, I wasn’t thinking about my to do list for the day, my crush not liking me back, or my friend’s birthday text I forgot to send. No, no. I was trying not to think about the blister on my toe. And trying not to think about the fact that I had 2 more miles to go. And I was refocusing all my thoughts to positive things like how that nice-person-gave-me-a-cold-towel and that I-only-had-2-miles-left and that I-could-do-this and that I-was-strong.

Running will do that for you: force you to be completely present in a way that only suffering physically can do. And in some slightly masochistic kind of way, that is what makes running liberating. The hardness of running forces you to be present.

You can chat while you run:

From the length of this article, you can probably gather that I am a chatty girl. So I have great news for anyone else that loves to chat (or listen to someone chat): you can talk while you run! Runners invented a special theory for it and everything: it’s called Zone 2. No, it’s not a cool spy movie. Zone 2 is just the heart rate zone your in when you are about 60-70% of your max heart rate aka conversational pace. Rumor on the street is that you should be in zone 2, 60-80% of the time you are training. Translation: you should be able to talk on 70% of your runs, the entire time. Wow. Name a better sport for a working adult that needs to get their social and their exercise in every day (I’ll wait). Boom. Running.

Just You and You (100% your body)

There’s one thing in running that never sucks; and that’s the runner’s high. How does one explain the runner’s high? It’s like summiting a mountain (but better?). It’s like getting that job that you want (but better?). Basically it’s a feeling of accomplishment, pride, relief, and satisfaction all rolled into one little moment.

But there’s one feeling that comes from runner’s high that I’m not sure how to explain (but never fear! I will attempt).

When I was 18, my senior year track season got cancelled due to this thing called Covid. I was devastated, but I still kept training, doing the workouts my coach gave me by myself. I would hop the fence to the run on the (closed) track and hope I wouldn’t get caught (so rebellious of me to be running, I know). There was one particular day where I was doing 400m repeats, where I felt this elusive runner’s high feeling. I was absolutely killing my repeats, but the feeling came from a place of being so at one with my body. I knew exactly what pace I was going without looking at my watch. I knew exactly how hard to push my body. My brain and my body were not fighting each other, but working together.

And I know that sounds trite, like of course your brain and your body are working together. But there was such joy and satisfaction that I was in complete control of my body and that I was the master of my pain. I have only felt that high while running.

Suffering - a great way to start the day

They say it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something. Well, unfortunately with running, I’m not sure you can ever master it. The mastery of running is probably the same as perfection or self-actualization. In theory, it exists, but in reality, it’s only attainable for gods. Because even if you “master” running, it’s still hard. It’s still painful. There will still be mornings when you don’t want to go. So while I’m not sure you can master running, you can master mastering the pain.

Now we’re back to the whole pain and suffering thing, back to the question of “Why would you ever run it sucks so bad”. Ahhh yes, the pain is WHY I run.

Because when I get done with my run, I know I just did something hard. And my day hasn’t even started yet. My mantra for the past week has been “I-eat-discomfort-for-breakfast”. Dumb and silly, but guess what. I know it’s true. My brain actually believes me when I tell it that because I have learned to trust that I can do hard things because of running. There’s something so cool about suffering, voluntarily, to strengthen and better ourselves.

And that’s why your therapist (and David Goggins) has been telling you to run.

Here’s how to trick yourself into falling in love with running:

• Just commit. There’s a 3 week period when you first start running that I affectionally call the “Battle of the Brain.” Nothing about running is comfortable. Your brain will constantly fight you and tell you not to go running because it is trained to avoid any thing that causes you pain. So the first 3 weeks can be kind of a fight. Just commit. That’s my main tip to go from hating running to just disliking it. Once you get over the 3 week hump, doing something hard gets a little bit easier.

• Find a buddy. Nothing works better than some good ole fashioned peer pressure to get you to do something that you might have not done. Use this age old trick for your benefit. You don’t want to get out of bed? Too bad. Your friend Steve is waiting for you at the trail head and it would be so embarrassing if you didn’t show up. Truly.

• Sign up. To honor my family heritage, I am forced through genetics to be a competitive person. Nothing motivates me more to run that having something to train for. I have to beat myself! I have to beat my 5k rival! I have to get the medal at the finish line! Just sign up for the race before you even start training.

• Have “adventure” runs. Guys, as much as I have harped on running being the worst this article, it can actually be kind of fun. Find a trail you haven’t explored. Run on some rocks. Do something a little adventurous. It doesn’t need to be that serious, but it can be a little scary. & maybe that will bring the passion out of you.

• Classically condition yourself. Have you heard of Pavlov’s dog? That’s you now. You can actually train yourself to like running by giving yourself a little treat every time you go running. My “treat” of choice is a podcast I only listen to while I run. Or it’s actually a literal treat in the form of a stroop waffle I only have on my long runs. Anytime I think “I don’t want to run today,” I think of my waffle or my podcast and suddenly, I’m motivated to go.

So yes, running sucks, but that’s the whole point. It’s beautiful because it’s horrible and wonderful. Somedays you’ll have the runner’s high, and some days you will trudge through a 3 mile easy run. Like a type of gambling that’s always good for you. Overall, 10/10 would recommend running.