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Many people think running is the easiest way into exercise.
wera Rodsawang / Getty Images
All you need isa good pair of shoes, right?
But its not exactly that simple.
Claiming the identity of runner isnt a requirement for logging miles, of course.
Here, 14 people explain the pivotal moments that fueled their transformations about how they see themselves as runners.
I found a group of like-minded Black women of all shapes and sizes.
I just turned 58 years old, and am a late bloomer to the running gamereally late.
A few years ago, I was looking for a way to get active.
Ive never been very active at all.
They guided me through.
They said they had a first-time 5K program, and the race was called Run for the Roses.
They said Id have a coach, a training plan, and attend meetings.
So I bit the apple, tried it, and did the 5K.
From there, its history.
I became the lead ambassador for the D.C. area.
I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2017, and last year, the virtual Boston Marathon.
I felt that euphoria: Yeah, Im a runner.
Just get out and move your body.
If youre run-walking, youre moving!
Appreciate your body for what it can do.
After my first 5K, I became a mentor to a young girl who was doing her first 5K.
Thats what its all about.
Its been a fabulous journey and a sisterhood.
Adina Crawford, certified running coach and yoga instructor
2.
I was part of a teamand then again, I wasnt.
In middle school, they had usrun a mileonce a year.
People would dread it, but I secretly loved it.
I realized with running there was a direct relationship between how hard youre trying and the payoff.
I wanted to get a better time, and I liked improving.
My sophomore year in high school, my friends on the track and cross-country team convinced me to join.
Once I was on the teameven though I wasnt a standoutI started to feel like a runner.
But running doesnt have to be that way.
Its a sport with very basic rulesits just go and then stop.
After college, when I got a job, I would run to work.
That became something that people noticed.
To me, identifying as a runner is similar to identifying as an artist.
Then it becomes a process of sharing something you love, and its very vulnerable to do that.
Mylo Choy, runner, musician, and artist
3.
I realized my social media feed showed my true feelings on the sport.
Ive run off and on since college.
After I did physical therapy, I slowly started to come back.
I signed up for a few races, but then the pandemic happened.
Thats when I started running with a group of friends three or four times per week.
It was a way to exercise and socialize.
It was outside and we felt safe.
Shes like, So when did you become this runner?
All your posts are of you running.
I was like, Yeah, I guess I am a runner now.
I have the consistency and care I never had before.
Maria Fernanda Wetzel, teacher
4.
I felt support from the crowd at a race.
I was a sprinter in high school, and I ran cross country as well.
In college, I didnt run as much because I didnt have time.
I could feel the energy of the city; it just came alive.
Thats when I first fell in love with it.
All these random people were telling meyes, you might do it, keep going.
We help each other push through when we dont want to keep going.
I love that energy and that community.
Candace James, clinical researcher, certified running coach and co-captain ofGumboFit
5.
I ran 30 minutes without stopping.
I was able to run three miles, but not without stopping to walk.
So about a year ago, I started working with a coach.
She built up my confidence as well as my endurance.
I called my mom in tears.
I was so happy.
Two weeks ago, I ran five milesthe longest Ive gone without stopping.
I was so pumped.
My time doesnt matter.
My size doesnt matter.
I dont know why it just now fully clicked, but it did.
Cara Neil, photographer and marketer
6.
I made other choices to support my running goals.
I had a reallytraumatic childhoodthere was domestic violence, sexual abuse, and more.
Running was my escape.
I just knew, Im going to be okay.
Running has been a safe haven for me this whole time.
Still, it took me a long time to think of myself as a runner.
In my 20s, I registered for my first race ever, a full marathon.
I started to train for it, working toward a goal, following a plan.
Then I went to the grocery store.
And I was like, I need to check that I get mycarbs, I need to refuel.
So right then and there, thats when I thought, Oh, Im a runner.
You read in running magazines [that] your perception changes when youre a runner.
And at that moment, I realized everything I was doing was geared toward that specific goal.
I was like, I guess this is it, theres no going back now.
Ive run multiple marathons and ultramarathons since.
Athena Farias, coach, exercise physiologist, and personal trainer
7.
I reclaimed the label for myself.
I started running freshman year in high school.
I felt a lot of pressure at meets.
I got so nervous before each race I wanted to puke.
The nervousness and the intense workouts drove me to be better, though.
I absolutely felt like a runner, and a valuable part of the team.
But I dont set goals for distance or time.
I run until I dont feel like running anymore, then I walk.
I am completely okay with how I label it.
Kate Silver, writer
8.
I achieved a goal I never thought possible.
I was a high jumper and a sprinter in college.
I was invited to the race by the National Black Marathoners Association, and they had a banquet there.
I met Marilyn Bevans, who was the first Black woman to break the three-hour mark in the marathon.
Last year, I becamethe first U.S. Black female professional triathlete.
Its kind of translated, reallyfrom me being inspired by Marilyn Bevans to wanting to inspire others.
Sika Henry, professional triathlete and ambassador for Race for Change
9.
My friends started asking me for running advice.
I started running at a young age, beginning at a sports day in fifth grade.
I was on the track team for one semester in middle school.
But I took a break and didnt get back to running until after I graduated from college.
I was living in the Twin Cities at the time.
The weekend of the Twin Cities Marathon they have a 10K.
I did it every year for a few years.
I noticed people looked so excited when they picked up their marathon bibs.
So in 2018, I thought, Let me try this.
I Googled beginner marathon training and followed a plan.
No one around me was training for a marathon.
I was by myself and needed support, so I would post about my runs on social media.
Many of them look like metheyre Asian womenand they want to know how to get into running.
I even started ablogabout running.
Thats when I started to think, Oh, I guess I am a runner!
When I moved to Chicago in 2019, I realized there was a whole running community.
I trained with a group and got connected with all kinds of other runners.
I even started running in the winterlearning how to layer up and things like that.
Amanda Ye, organizational effectiveness consultant
10.
I did my first double-digit long run.
It was such a milestone in my mindI still think it is, for runners at any level.
I also remember how sore I was that afternoon, and for two or three days after.
I thought, This is what it feels like to be a runner.
Hiruni Wijayaratne, coach, professional runner in Boulder and Sri Lankan national marathon record holder
11.
I realized my nephews saw me that way.
Ive built up my lungs so much.
Im still hard on myself, though.
I worry Im not going to be fast because of all the damage I did.
I have to remind myself I deserve to be out there just as much as anyone else.
Last April, I did a 15-mile race for Earth Day.
I almost quit before I started.
I was so nervous.
I showed up anyway.
Toward the end of the race, I got a huge cramp in the back of my leg.
I could see the finish line, but I stopped, because my family was there.
I sat down for a second and my nephew came up to me.
And he looks at me and says, TT, were you last?
That was a huge moment for me.
My nephews know me as a runner, not as a smoker.
If they can have that in their molding minds, why cant I see that too?
Tara Tague, office manager
12.
I finished a half-marathon.
I started running in March of 2009.
I had three little boys.
I didnt know about running, and I didnt grow up running; it was all new to me.
I signed up for a race that August, and I finished it.
I have a photo of that day I often share on my social media.
I was so happy.
I remember running to the finish line and my little boys being there.
Thats when it really hit me that I could actually run, I could actually do this.
From there, Ive been hooked.
Ive gone from a newbie runner to an ultrarunner in these 13 yearsits been a journey.
Ive done a 100K, 62 miles, and I plan to attempt a 100-miler this fall.
I really struggle with mainstream media showing you have to look a certain way to be a runner.
Thats why I startedNative Women Running.
I didnt see myself in running and I wanted to create a space for native runners.
This April, Ill be running the Boston Marathon forWings of America, a Native American youth program.
Having an opportunity like that makes me realize again, Wow, I am a runner.
Im not representing just myself.
They think, Shes a normal runner just like me.
I think there needs to be a lot more of that.
Verna Volker, teacher and founder ofNative Women Running
13.
It helped me feel at home in a new place.
I first believed I was a runner after finishing my second marathon.
It saved me from depression and it was a way to channel energy into something positive for myself.
The second [marathon] was to understand if this was a thing.
It wasverymuch a thing.
My last Im-a-runner thought came when I moved to Chicago a year ago.
Its how I introduced myself on dates.
Rebecca Adame, portfolio program manager
14.
I ran the Boston Marathon.
I started running later in lifeI was acyclistfirst.
My second marathon, I ran a fast enough time to qualify for Boston.
When I got there, it was amazing.
Here I am around all these elite runners.
People were cheering for us, high-fiving and everything.
I soaked it all in, and also ran a pretty good time.
I truly felt like a runner when I ran the Boston Marathon.
But you definitely dont have to do a race like that to call yourself a runner.
Anybody can be a runner.
It doesnt depend on your speed or the distance.
The past couple of years, Ive had some setbacksinjuries and menopausethat have put me in a slump.
I do that by keeping God first in my life and that definitely includes my running.
We shouldnt compare ourselves to other people.
You do your own thing, and youre a runner.
