Just Because You Are a Character Doesn't Mean You Have Character

My friends said it when I passed them after Mile 23 during the Akron Marathon. My folks said it as I neared the finish. I saw it for myself when the race photos were posted online. I don't look like I'm having much fun when I run.

My dad was surprised when I said I'd run another marathon. "I may not look pretty when I do it, but I can do it all the same," I replied. And then I saw this Frazz, which pretty much sums it up for me.

Amy at the Runners' Lounge answers the question every runner eventually hears: Why the heck would you do that to yourself? Team BHI can really relate to this answer:

My beer tastes even better.

Amen. I've told that to a few people.

But why must we have a reason? Yes, I can list several things I like about running. It makes me feel good. It occupies my alone time. It gives me a reason to go outside. It gives me time to think. I like the competition. I like pushing myself. The beer is better. However, these are just byproducts of running -- reasons why I don't stop. Why did I start running? I don't know.

It was a frigid March morning. I had had my last cigarette in January after 10 years of smoking. My closest approximation for running shoes were three years old and a size too small and would eventually give me shin splints. I had been shut in for a long Ohio winter and I thought it would be nice to go outside a do something. I didn't even make it a mile.

October is no longer hot in Ohio. We've entered autumn, the dying season. I haven't gotten back to my weekly routine since the marathon, and all is not right in the world. That's the real reason why I run. Because it just feels wrong not to.