…Run Toward the Path YOU Want
I took up running a million years ago because it was a convenient, cheap way to stay in shape. I had no intention of running races. But was I really a runner if I didn’t run a race?
So I signed up for a fundraising run. Not a race, but still a start and finish and multitudes of people. Since it was a fundraiser, people on bikes and rollerblades also participated. It was a chaotic, overwhelming, exciting scene. But this is what it takes to call myself a runner, right?
And then I got run over by a bike. Knocked down from behind, a bruise the size of a CD (remember those?) swelling on my calf. I hobbled the rest of the way because damnit, I was going to finish! I did.
And I’ve never run another race.
Instead I run in my neighbourhood, just for me. No participation certificates or medals or anything else to prove I’m a runner.
My friend runs marathons for fun (crazy, I know!) She’s run the prestigious Boston Marathon multiple times, and I’m so impressed by her!
That’s not my path. But since I run, I call myself a runner.
Since you write, you are a writer. Whether you have something published or not, something finished or not. You may, like my friend, strive for big events, or you may not. It’s better to enjoy whatever path you choose than to, well, emerge from a path you think you should take, battered and bruised. 🙂