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Are You Resigned to Be No More Than You Are?
I don’t identify as a runner, but I’ve done plenty of it in my day. Statistically speaking, I’ve run more distance in one year than 99% of the total population will in their lifetime.
In 2023, I set a new personal record: more than 1,410 miles in one year. Those last 10 miles made the difference.
Science tells us that running is good for us. It also tells us that it increases the likelihood that our bodies will store fat because clearly we’re running from something.
A phrase from the biblical Proverbs comes to mind:
The wicked run away when no one is chasing them. — Proverbs 28:1
The real missed opportunity here is that it wasn’t Proverbs 26:2 (IFKYK). Pheidippides should have been born 300 years earlier.
Here’s the thing about running. When you run a lot, your body screams for calories. For the most part, the kinds of calories aren’t even that important. I mean, they are important, but also not. Long-distance runners are like calorie-burning factories. It’s probably obvious, but I’ll say it anyway, that there are different types of calories. A salad with a lot of protein sits very different on a 20-mile run than a bowl of ice cream with a lot of toppings.
