By Deb Shute
Deb is a lifelong runner who currently coaches cross-country and track at Ephraim Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA.
As a lifelong runner in my 40s, I see running not just as something I do, but as my oldest, dearest, and most fraught relationship. Although I’ve loved the sport since before I could walk, we’ve broken up many times – due to illness, injury, burnout, life transitions, interruptions, and a few made-up excuses.
Thankfully, running is a friend that doesn’t hold a grudge. No matter how long the hiatus, it always welcomes me back. But this time, I want to repair what has repeatedly gone wrong. So far, this means reflecting on what I love about running – the things I miss so deeply when I’m not running – and getting rid of the ideas that get in the way.
Remember the Benefits
As a middle-school coach, I get to witness new runners discover the pleasure that waits on the other side of blisters and side-stitches. “Once you get used to it, running is one of the most relaxing things you can do,” I tell them. “It can comfort you after a bad day or calm your nerves to help you meet another challenge. It’s an amazing tool to manage your stress.”
For me, a long run can be the soothing equivalent of being rocked in a giant, adult-sized cradle. There’s also something magical that happens from breathing hard; it forces us to truly, deeply exhale. It gives all of the tension that builds up in our lives someplace to go. What a relief! Finally, it’s a time to let my mind wander, to daydream, to indulge in visualizing things going right. This is the sensory cocktail that makes running so medicinal. When I’m running regularly, I’m a happier person even on the days I don’t train.
Regrettably, there’ve been times I’ve lost all sight of those benefits while fixating on training details and performance outcomes. I let my greatest comfort become fodder for self-criticism if I failed to meet whatever standards I’d attached. My passion turned into a sense of obligation. The confidence I’d once found in movement itself soured into shame if I wasn’t setting PRs.
I’d never want my students’ mindset to become tainted in this manner, but we can all fall prey to the misconception that running for pleasure and running well are mutually exclusive. In reality, focusing on the joy that running brings me has lightened my load and lifted my spirits so much that I’m arguably a better competitor than I’ve ever been before. I used to be a person who cried after races that didn’t “go well,” but now I’ve learned that smiling just to be there is the greatest success of all.
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