Free Your Mind

Before we even lace up those sneakers, let’s erase any preconceived notions of who is a runner and who is not a runner. The idea that you have to be a certain size, shape, height, build; the idea that you have to be fast; the idea that you can’t walk…

It took me a long time to clear my mind of this nonsense. I’m talking years, and a decent number of completed races, to believe that I was a runner, that I am a runner. Whether you walk, run, hop, or crawl to get it done, you are still getting it done.

I used a very popular, run-walk method to train for my first three half marathons, and there are thousands of people getting across many a finish line with this method, including marathons and ultramarathons. We are all runners.

My mom is a brisk walker, with some jogging mixed in. She often finishes in the top 3 of her age group, and her medal hanger looks pretty darn impressive. We are all runners.

Take a look at some youtube videos of any major marathon, and you will see people of every shape, size, gender, color - who are all getting it done - sometimes, in tutus (looking at you RunDisney races)! All runners.

I don’t promise that this comes easy, but I recommend erasing the following phrases from your vocabulary: “I can’t; I won’t; I’m not…”

Did I think I’d ever run more than 5 miles when I started out? Nope. Did I think running a half marathon was crazy? Yep. Did I once say emphatically, “I will NEVER run a marathon.” Yes.

But that was the pre-marathon me. I’ve since changed my vocabulary to: “I can; I will; I am…” I’ve learned to never say never.