So I am sitting here looking at my son, looking at me.  I am reminded again of how much time this parenting thing takes.  Dishes in the sink, planning to do for class this week, yada yada. I mean seriously, what did I do with my free time before Evan came along?  But really, who isn’t busy?  Whatevs.  Life is good.

So I need to find something to keep me motivated to update this site on a regular basis.  I am a list maker.  At school. At home. At practice.  For some reason, if I don’t put down stuff on a list, it probably won’t get done.  So here is my 2012 feature:  My favorite things about running.  Emotions, clothing, gear, routes, anything that comes to my mind.  Maybe it will offend some folks, maybe it will get a chuckle out of you, maybe you don’t give a damn what I think.  But when I consider all there is to enjoy about this lifestyle, well it needs to be written for future generations to enjoy.  So without further ado, I present to you, my favorite thing about running.  Number 1. . . .

My favorite thing about running is, running.

I guess it goes without saying that if you have gone to the trouble of bookmarking, or remembering, or dare I say making this your homepage (just suggestin’) you probably enjoy running.  Who knows what it is?  I, and others, try to explain it all the time.  But really, if you have never experienced it, you don’t really get it.  That saying is true for many things in this world, but running seems to be really misunderstood.  The crazy thing is, there are plenty of reasons not to run.  I look at my high school kids, lord knows it is easier to take the afternoon off than go for a 5 miler. You can’t force someone to run.

So there must be something in us, some wiring, some genetic mutation, some nurturing factor at some point in some of our lives that gets us out and running like we do.  As a coach I try to identify this to get the kids out who might have a talent for the sport.  But how do you account for the people who start in college, or after their first kid, or after their 40th birthday, or after they retire?  What is the magical “R” factor?  I think about it, and then I realize who cares?  We all have this special bond that people who have never run a 5k or 10k or whatever.  It sounds cheesy, but it is so so true.  Watch the finish line of any race, you will see complete strangers hugging, sweating together, throwing, joking about port-a-potties, or nipple bleeding.  That crap doesn’t happen in the real world, the world off our roads and trails.  Of course trying to summarize running in something like this is futile. But there you have it, my favorite thing about running, is running.