Why Do You Run?

Why do YOU run? The Cross Country team here at my school watched an inspirational video that basically asked us "what makes you run?" It seems as if everyone on the team ran better after watching this video; I didn't. I've been grappling with this question of "why" for a while now, and I think yesterday it was made crystal clear why I do. Yesterday I ran 5 miles by myself. I went at a slow pace and everything was silent. It was so silent it was as if the world stood perfectly still just so I could run through it with no interruptions. So... I had a lot of time (41 minute and 39 second to be exact) to think. So I FINALLY figured out why I run, and what has suddenly made me so passionate about keeping up my training. But, in order for you all to understand REALLY why I run, I need to tell you a story (for all great answers have stories).

In August, I moved in to Gough 127 here at Eastern University, early for XC practice. A few days later, my first room mate Matt came in for LGP. That is where this story begins, and my life (not to get all mushy but I got to say it) changed. I was hoping I would get a good room mate, and I got a lot more than that. I got the best room mate I could ask for. Yeah, NONE of you reading this have a better room mate. Don't debate it, because you are wrong. Just trust me. Anyway, I don't think he'll be upset with me sharing what little I will but you need to understand something about Matt. Matt has muscular dystrophy. Now, what VERY little I know about it, is in the MOST basic sense. The VERRRY basic description is: his muscles don't work as well as they could. For example, Matt can not stand flat on his feet. You would have to rip the tendons in his legs to do so. His muscles are weak and very tight. Because of this, Matt needs to use a scooter to get to classes. Many of the muscles in his body are weak because of muscular dystrophy. So as you can imagine, Matt sometimes needs help in the room. That melds PERFECTLY with my personality, because I'm am always there to help him. It's my favorite thing to do.

It is interesting really. I have seen a different side of Matt that most people never will. I see how he hurts when it rains, (even though he somehow LOVES thunderstorms?) how hyper he can get a night, and how he is utterly exhausted when he doesn't get much sleep. It's rather cool how he is SUCH an extrovert though. God certainly did that on purpose. When Matt is tired, you just put him with people and he is recharged to a certain extent. It's like God said "Your body may not be able to give you enough energy, but others will." It's REALLY cool to see this in action. It's also cool to see how when he is HURTING, how he doesn't let that hold him down, he keeps trucking on (kind of like RUNNERS but in a WAY different sense).

Every day I wake up and I think about how I can help Matt that day and make his day awesome. I really do. I clean the bathroom (sometimes) to keep it nice for him. I try to keep the room as clean as possible for him with nothing on the floor. I plug in his laptop and just do small things to make his life easier. Through doing these really rather trivial things, I honestly feel like I have a connection to him. I feel like my strengths gives him some strength. It's awesome. I really care about him and the things I do show that.

Now, what does ANY of this have to do with why I run? It's simple really: it has EVERYTHING to do with it. My room mate will never run a mile. I feel bad for saying that, but it's true. As you saw above, I do things for Matt to help him get through the day better with a bigger smile (even if what I do really doesn't help him). So, why do I run? I run because he can't. I run because in a sense, I feel like I'm running FOR Matt. Some of you may say that's cheesy, and it may not make sense to you. Honestly, I don't care if it doesn't. I really have a connection with this guy. I am closer to him than most other people I have ever met in my life. But also, it's a different connection. I don't know his deepest darkest secrets, and he doesn't know mine. But somehow...we are bound together forever. How do I know this you ask? Well... because I keep running.