I love runners.
Yes, the physical benefits are often what get us out the door and onto the pavement, trails, tracks, treadmills, or gravel roads. But running is about so much more than fitness. Many of us are carrying something. Running becomes a place to put all the things we don’t quite know what to do with—the grief, the doubt, the anxiety, the heartbreak, the trauma, and everything in between.
It doesn’t magically make those things disappear, and it certainly doesn’t solve every problem. What it does teach you is something far more powerful: that you can keep moving forward while carrying them. One step at a time, one mile at a time, running reminds us that strength isn’t about having no burdens. It’s about learning how to keep going, even when they’re still there.
For me, running and mental health really go hand in hand. Running taught me how to be less of a people pleaser because it teaches you to sit with and work through uncomfortable emotions. As a mom of two boys who worked through several career changes, running has always been a way to get back to myself and process my thoughts and emotions. The mental strength and grit that a marathon requires is truly astounding and doesn’t get nearly enough emphasis as the physical part of running does.
