I have loved running for 10 years.
I am not sure how this happened.
I have never been a particularly fast or competitive runner. I had no intention of pursuing the sport beyond high school cross country.
And yet, ten years later, running is an integral part of my life– part of my daily routine.
When I tell people I love to run, I do feel the need to clarify how and why.
I give the spiel, “no not that kind of running”– not the self-sacrificing running fueled by the pursuit of pain and suffering.
In fact, over the years, I’ve realized that the running itself is actually secondary, and it’s what running helps me access that I’m really interested in.
All this to say, I have begun to view running as less of a sport and more of a doorway.
A doorway to what? To where?
Haruki Murakami states, "writing honestly about running and writing honestly about [him]self are nearly the same thing."
When I first read this, I knew it was true– it’s one of those sentences that feels like I’ve always known, but didn’t know how to say.
In my experience, every run presents an opening– an opportunity to move towards my self. Towards feeling. Towards experience. Towards the present moment.
All this has required of me is a willingness to run intuitively.
INTUITIVE RUNNING
“Intuitive running” is a term coined by Karly Borden, founder of the Public Run Club. It is characterized by understanding our bodies as being cyclical, and views running as a form of self-advocacy and self-nurturance. It is rooted in the desire to “stay close to the feeling” (Borden), and fosters a greater sense of self-trust, and self-acceptance.
What does intuitive running look like?
I’ve never seen it before. I only know how it feels.
It feels liberating– chest-expanding, playful, and curious. It does not mean only running slow. It does not mean running aimlessly, or with a lack of ambition.
Rather, it means embodying a full range of possibilities– holding space for the present moment. Staying close to the feeling. Whatever the feeling may be.
Not any certain feeling (noun), but the feeling (verb) itself.
This is how I have found running to be a doorway– a way to access a more full range of body, mind, and spirit– through presence.
Through feeling.
body / rest
through running, I find access to rest.
mind / release
through running, I find release.
heart / hope
through running, I find hope.