A New Way of Life

Thirty-five years ago, I went from walking regularly to running. It was quite by chance really. I was walking down some rolling hills, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing and it came to me to run, just start running. So, I did, backpack and all. Since running and I had never been friends, I was surprised at how long I kept going. I had to continually remind myself that I disliked running, so eventually I listened to my inner voice and stopped.

Then within days, I was running 20 km and 3 months after that I was in Athens, Greece running my first marathon. What a powerful experience it was! I was following the footsteps, or should I say running steps of the first marathoners. I could almost hear the echoes of the cheering crowds from centuries past, as I ran into the coliseum for my last half kilometer before crossing the finish line. Since then, I have run in many countries, from Europe to Mexico, and taken part in a variety of races and marathons, but mostly I have run just for fun, for running soon became a passion. Deer, moose, snakes, eagles, bears and a variety of other wildlife have accompanied me on my treks, for often I just run to see where the trail will take me.

At one point I decided I needed a bit more incentive. Since I was already tracking my mileage I chose, on paper, to run from the furthest eastern point of Canada to the furthest western point. Once I did that, I turned around and ran back, again all on paper, as I calculated all the kilometers I ran. After accomplishing that, I decided that running from the most northerly to the most southerly point seemed appropriate, so again off I went. And after reaching that goal, thousands of kilometers later, I turned around and started running back. The total mileage from east to west and back, and from north to south and back is 21,186 km and I surpassed that in 2014.

For someone who wasn’t into running, I have now run over 31,000 km and am days away from celebrating my 36^th running anniversary.

For me, I have found running to be very therapeutic. Often when I am uncertain about some aspect of my life, I go for a run. Since I run in nature whenever possible, I find the peace and solitude to be very refreshing, allowing me to release the stress, the built-up energies and connect with my environment and more importantly with myself. Always, I return feeling freer, more relaxed and more peaceful. For me, running is more than just exercising, it is a way of life. And its impact on me has been extremely powerful and life changing. From the people I have met on this journey to the experiences I underwent, all have positively impacted my life … and helped me change who I am.