Who Do I Run For?

On this week's Open Mike Episode of the podcast, The Runner’s Roundtable, listeners are being asked to call in with their answers to the question “Who do you run for?”. This got me to thinking.  Do I run for anyone? After giving it some thought the first person who came to mind was me. Not just me, but different versions of me.

I run for my present-day self because, quite simply, running makes me a happier person.

Me (work photo) looking pretty happy I think

I run for my younger, less-empowered self because I now know I can do things I never thought I could do if I work hard and believe in myself.

Me, age 3

Finally, I run for my future, older self because I won’t be able to run forever and I want to make the most of the time I have left. That’s a big one.

Me and my 92-year-old Grandma

As I processed this profound information I also realized that I actually run for a few more people. I run for those of you out there in the universe who are watching me. You follow me on Twitter and you read my blog and I know if I stopped running you’d notice.

I also run for my dog, Fred, who passed away in March. He can’t run and I can. I’m even raising money in his memory by running a Half-Marathon later this week for the SPCA.

And last, but not least, I run for my friends and family. Those people whose lives have been improved a little bit by having a happier version of me around, the most notable being...

...Ian

...my Dad

...my sister

...my Mom

Believe it or not, I can be a bit of a handful at times and I think most of my loved one’s would agree I’m more pleasant to be around now that I’m a runner.