There are very few sports that allow for a late start in life. If you know someone who plays on a team of any sort, whether it be professional or amateur, chances are they started playing as a kid, maybe played in high school and possibly even college. Very rarely do you see athletes who will tell you they picked up the sport later in life.
The exception to that rule seems to be running. Not all runners ran track or cross country, not all runners were on a team and just opted to keep at it. No, some of the most avid runners came to the sport later in life. Because of that, most runners have a story to tell. One that proves anyone can run, if they really want it bad enough.
When people see me and learn that my life is largely dictated by the sport of running, they’ll often say, “oh, you look like a runner.” I still have a hard time believing them, as this body didn’t always look like it could run and it did a lot more sitting than anything else.
Furthermore, I’m always asked, “who did you run for?”. The first time I was asked this, I stared blankly as I didn’t even know what the question meant. People assume I ran for a university. All of these statements occur because it only seems natural to people that someone like me had a hefty background in the sport.
But, I didn’t. Not at all. Not even a little bit. That’s my favorite part of the story I get to tell these strangers. (more…)
