Thursday evening, I was jogging along the canal during the Dave Clarke 5k Race at Trentham, and got chatting to a lady who was running along with us.

Talk of “Some people will have finished already” and “I’ll never be fast” started to crop up… and we all agreed… who cares! As long as you are enjoying yourself!

We all run for different reasons.

Some people push themselves to the limit and chase down their personal best, some run fast for the adrenaline rush. Some people run to gain fitness or to loose weight, others run to clear their head.

At the end of the day does the number matter? Sure if your motivation is to be faster or to beat a time then go for it if it makes you happy, but not everyone who runs should care about the time.

Why do I run?

I started because I wanted to get fit and running worked well with my routine.

But as I got more and more in to it I started to feel the other benefits; such as how it clears my head, the quality time it gives me with my friends and the dogs. I’ve started to notice how much stronger my legs are and how much quicker I get my breath back after pushing myself.

I’ve also started to enjoy the competition. Started to enjoy pushing myself. Of course I’m never going to be 1st in a race, but I can compete with myself. I love competition and actually Thursday was the first time I quite enjoyed “racing”. The tactics I came up with were not to beat other people but to get the best from myself.

Striving for a faster time is giving me the drive to push hard and make progressions, something I really want to do.

But most importantly I enjoy the run. I enjoy the places I see, the people I get to spend time with, the sense of achievement when I cross the finish line. While I push myself I don’t make it awful or painful. If I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t do it.

It doesn’t matter why you run, as long as it is your reason. Run for yourself, not for anybody else.

So… why do you run?