Why I Started Running & Why I Plan to Continue

A little over two years ago I started running. I didn’t plan to do it. In fact, I’m not sure why I went out that first day.

I remember saying to my wife, “I’m going for a run.” Her loving, tender answer was, “You’re not a runner!” And she was right.

In fact, I’ve never been a runner. But I became one. One run at a time.

When I came home that first day I felt better. My mind was clearer. So I did it a second day, and a third, and…you get the point.

Now, these many months later I can say it was one of the best things I have ever done. And it’s not just physical. There were so many benefits that I never anticipated.

• Running has helped my mind. Exercise does wonderful things for the brain. I think of things that I do not think of at any other time while I am on a run. And I think more clearly about almost everything.
• Running has helped my health. Besides helping me to lose weight, running has kept my body chemistry more consistent. A good sweat goes a long way to keeping you healthy and getting impurities out of your system. It will even help you to sleep better at night.
• Running has helped my energy level. Instead of a nap I have found that a run can refresh me. Living on the road and keeping a busy schedule, I have discovered that running does not take my strength. It increases it. Running is an investment in every other task I have to do.
• Running has helped me deal with stress. We all have it. It comes in waves at some time in life. For many years food or some other distraction was my remedy. I have learned that a daily run releases a great deal of tension and will enable you to see life differently.
• Running has helped my spirit. There is something renewing about being on a run alone. Occasionally I will run with others and I enjoy the time with fellow runners. But, in truth, I like being alone. On a run I can pray, listen to good music, listen to a Bible message, or just be quiet. God often speaks to me about things while I am on a run and concentrating on Him.
• Running has helped my discipline. Running itself is a discipline. But one discipline can affect many others. Learning to say no to yourself, to push yourself a little harder, to set goals – all of this, and more, will build discipline into life.
• Running has helped my life. I am amazed how many lessons God has taught me through running! Parallels to daily life and labor. Spiritual truths are often mirrored in the physical realm. They serve as God’s object lessons. And every run can become His classroom.

I’m still not sure I am a “runner.” There are others far more serious about it than I. But this I am sure of: I’m glad I started. And though it wasn’t planned, I plan to continue.

Let me recommend that you get your shoes on today and find a nice place to begin. It is more than just your body, it is your soul and spirit that will be helped.

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

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