There is no quote more true, than the one that titles this blog entry. Being a runner is a part of who I am, but what made me become a runner was not that I knew I was good at it, as I was aware that I was not, it was because I was naive enough to know that I could get better, and 11 years of road running later, I am still telling myself that it will get get easier. It never does, but I get better, and my love for running grows with each pad on the pavement. Being a runner has alone birthed me a family that I did not know I was missing. I have so many best friends now who are my “run family” that I cannot list them all. What I can say though, is that today, in the wake of the bombings in Boston, I am aching for my affected friends and family, and I do not understand why this has happened. But there are a few things that I do know. 

               Being a runner, I have known what it feels like to celebrate so many firsts, that I think that is one of the reasons I love it. There was the time I walked a mile, then two, then three consecutively. There was the first time I ran ten minutes without a break, then a mile, then 2, then 8. You can see, this is never going to be something where I will not have a goal. Being a runner is like being the best at your own sports, ever time you finish a run, or set a PR. There is no end to how much you can accomplish and there is no limit to how great you can be. 

              Running gives you a sense of accomplishment that you cannot get anywhere else. You can be your best or your worst at the same time. You can run 5 miles slower than you have walked them before, but if you did it with a headache, it can also be your best run while you were sick. There is no such thing as a bad run. They are all great in some form or another. 

    I could literally type for hours on why I love running and all the ways in which it has changed who I am, but what I want to address is the relationship runners have with each other. When you are a runner, you know the other runners are family. The cheer for you when you post that you ran only a measly mile, because we all remember our first few months as runners and we get it. Runners all see others runners are fantastic. If you are trying, we will support you and encourage you. I personally think running should be required at least weekly for everyone capable, but I am not POTUS yet, and I cannot make such suggestions (btw, I am well aware that POTUS’es can’t either). 

     When you are a runner, you see the girl who ran for 12 minutes and posted it on Facebook and you do not think less of her, you think about your own accomplishments as a runner and you think of how cool it would be for 12 minutes to be all it took you again to feel like you’ve had a long run. And you see the lady who just finished 18 miles and you envy that kicked your ass in time and you vow next time to step it up. There is no golden child in this family, we really are all equals in our minds. 

         Today, when so many were hurt, I could not help but think about the men and women who had almost made it to the finish line when the bomb went off. Not only were they physically wounded, they were robbed emotionally of the sense of accomplishment from something that no doubt took them months to prepare for. Some were killed while some lost limbs. I am not sure which may be worse for some of them. Imagine having had worked for many months training for this moment, and to see it fade away into the chaos. As if it wasn’t already a terrible situation, you now have that on top of it. Fuck that. That’s not cool. I don’t know much, but I know the resilience that runners have, and I know that those who survive this will run again. Because, quite frankly, running is not something you just stop doing. Being a runner is who you are and what you do. No one understands it unless they are a runner. I can say without hesitation, that running saved my life and I am confident that it will aid in saving the victims as well.