For most of my life, I have detested running. However, I cannot deny the obvious pleasure and satisfaction that so many of my friends experience from running, so I have decided to become a runner. It hasn’t been an easy start. Running burns, and I pant and wheeze in my first few laps as if I’ve been on the track for hours. I struggle to complete a mile, something that true runners use as just a portion of their warm up. But when I cross the marker that ends my laps around the track, I celebrate. I walk with purpose and inhale deeply. I search for my runner friends to tell them of my small feat, and they genuinely rejoice with me because they know everyone must start somewhere. Since I have picked up running, I have experienced just one “runner’s high.” For me, it was only enough to keep me going to two miles, but that surely was a triumph in my book. I felt strong and healthy, ready to get back on the track and strive for that sensation yet again. Most importantly, I felt grateful. I wasn’t mad at my body for the stubborn “problem areas” that don’t seem to tone. I wasn’t feeling guilty for the savory, cheese pizza eaten earlier that week. Instead, I was proud and appreciative of what my body had just done. I am blessed to have a body that is capable of exercise and training. So even though I may never run a marathon or enter a race of any kind, I am a runner, striving for one more lap every time I hit the track.

Elaine Bailey is a full-time student majoring in Writing, Rhetoric and Communication. She also works as a tour guide for her cherished university. She’s in love with every corner of this world, and I end each adventure wondering when the next will begin