Why do I run?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="56bd4c03.jpg"> <div> My mother, who is also a runner, found this little poem and passed it along to me.  I love it for the underlying message of identifying where the most important battle is won.</div> <bR> <div> My apologies to the author (I don't know who you are but thank you).</div> <bR> <div> Run on!</div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" ><B>WilmothHarbor</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>   |     <A HREF="http://www.wilmothharbor.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wilmothharbor.com">home</A></div> <div> <B>Why do I run?</B>   |   <A HREF="id166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Run like a Champion">Run like a Champion</A>   |   <A HREF="id184.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Just Do It!">Just Do It!</A>   |   <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marathon Results">Marathon Results</A>   |   <A HREF="id167.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The PR (Personal Records) List">The PR (Personal Records) List</A>   |   <A HREF="id169.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Running Photos">Running Photos</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Why do I run?</div> <div> Why do I run?</div> <div> Those who don't can't understand.</div> <div> The pain is real every day.</div> <div> Is it easier now?  Not really--</div> <div> The same pain I felt the first day</div> <div>      I began.</div> <div> Only easier to cover greater </div> <div>      distances in shorter periods of time.</div> <div> The pain is the same, and I understand </div> <div>      it always will be.</div> <div> I dread it, and in a sense I crave it.</div> <div> Why do I run?</div> <div> To stay in shape, to keep my heath,</div> <bR> <div> To feel better--all partial reasons,</div> <div>      I suppose.</div> <div> The real reason is confirmation--confirmation</div> <div>      that I am in control.</div> <div> Every day I must make a choice--a choice</div> <div>      to experience pain and discomfort in order</div> <div>      to achieve a higher goal or to give in to </div> <div>      the body's urging to do something else more</div> <div>      comforting and pleasurable.</div> <div> Who is in control?  My body or me?</div> <div> Every time I run, I verify to me that</div> <div>      I am in control and that I can be the </div> <div>      master of my own destiny.</div> <div> That is ultimately why I run.</div> <div> I feel guilty when I don't run--</div> <div>      when the body wins</div> <div> Running is a test of my strength--</div> <div>      not just my physical--but my mental.</div> <div> Running is a challenge of my "will"--</div> <div>      of mind over matter, of me</div> <div>      against myself.</div> <div> Running is mental conditioning as well</div> <div>      as physical.</div> <div> It's therapy of the "will" for me.</div> <div> Each run is success--the richest and</div> <div>      most deeply satisfying.</div> <div> Strangely but unmistakably tied to self-</div> <div>      discipline, self-denial, and self-control.</div> <div> In a world where I often feel helpless, </div> <div>      victimized, and controlled, running</div> <div>      helps revive feelings of hope, strength, </div> <div>      and conviction that</div> <div>           I can make a difference</div> <div>                and</div> <div>           I can be responsible for me.</div> <div> An addiction or choice, you say.</div> <div>      And you're right--there's a danger.</div> <div> So long as I "choose," the value remains</div> <div>      true and real;</div> <div> So long as I control running and not </div> <div>      running--me.</div> <div> Positive addiction or not, the value </div> <div>      is in choosing.</div> <bR> <div> When the choice is gone, I become</div> <div>      controlled and victimized again,</div> <div> One more thing in my life that tells me </div> <div>      I am not in control, that</div> <div> I am simply a pawn of fate and circumstance.</div> <div> I must run as a choice, not out of necessity</div> <div>      or its real value again is gone for me.</div> <div> Why do I run?</div> <div> I run for success, success in the</div> <div>      ultimate contest.</div> <div> The contest of me against myself.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>