“At first I think ‘Ahhh I don’t know if I am going to finish this,’ halfway through I tell myself ‘what the heck am I doing?’ and then when I cross the finish line I am like ‘yessssss!’” said Davis Alumni, U.T. Fong, when describing running the Davis Stampede. The Davis Stampede took place on Sunday, February 3rd; A Change of Pace Foundation hosted the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon races. The mission of A Change of Pace Foundation is to “encourage, educate and motivate kids to inspire life-long habits towards a healthy lifestyle.”
Trying to live a healthy lifestyle is one of the many reasons I chose to brave the Davis terrain on that cool, sunny morning. While running, I could completely relate to how Fong felt. Although it was my second half marathon, it was by no means easier than the first. I was constantly telling my brain to tell my legs to keep moving and not give up.
Every runner does something different to keep moving. I count. I tell myself motivational quotes like “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” I even try to dance—That is what two hours of running gets me; I will basically do whatever it takes to have my mind shift from the all-too-frequent “I’m tiiiiiiired,” thoughts.
Why do people run then? Running is torture. Running is hard. Running takes both mental and physical endurance. There are many other ways to live a healthy lifestyle that don’t include running. When I asked Davis Stampeder Tim Yagle why he runs he said, “I love the culture of running. You are with people, whether it be 1000 or 30,000, who want to be healthy and do it in a mass environment.”
A total of 2,728 participants signed up and ran a race in the Davis Stampede this year. None of those participants were forced to sign up for a race, nor was it free. The Davis Stampede cost me about $60. Sure, the money goes towards A Change of Pace Foundation, but there are so many other organizations to donate to, thus I don’t think it is the philanthropic enzyme in people that signs them up for races.
UC Davis student, Annie Lee, said she was running in the Davis Stampede “For KGD, the only Pre-Health Sorority on campus!” When I asked Lee’s sorority sister, Jessica Tea, why she ran, she responded, “Mostly for my friends and my sorority sisters wanted to do it so that helped.” After asking a Davis Stampede Pacer, Bob Gilbert, why he ran, I began to see a trend in the responses. Gilbert responded, saying, “I run because I enjoy it. It is outdoors, it is good people, and I mean all kinds of people— but mostly not people that you don’t want to meet.”
Running leads to connection. Whether it is the dialogue you are having with yourself on the course or the dialogue you are sharing with someone you just met; running offers you the ability to escape from the routine of your everyday life and be free to connect with yourself and like-minded individuals. I really appreciate the inner-dialogue I have with myself while running, because it helps me let go of all my mental baggage for the remainder of the race. ‘Don’t pass out’ and ‘cross the finish line’ is what consumed my mind for those 2+ hours of running—along with counting, ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,’ and ‘I like to move it move it.’ Not once did I think about school, life after college, or any of the dramarama in my life!
Life is too short to spend without the connection that can be gained through running. While many argue it can be hard to get started, the first step is always the hardest. We as humans yearn for connection. Find a friend to start going on jogs with; in the midst of connecting with someone else, you may begin to connect with yourself. When I asked Fong’s running buddy, Michael Yu, why he runs, he said, “I like the medals and collecting bibs.” We all have our own personal reason for running, but remember running is social. Enjoy that inner dialogue; sing, dance and tell yourself motivational quotes as you run—I assure you it will make the time go by faster and before you know it, you’ll be hooked!