I run because I have to. Not because anyone is making me, or there is any outside expectation that I run, but because running is my sanity. Running is my calm, my quiet, my me time, my solace. Running saved me from a bad marriage, but more than that it saved me from myself. Running let me find the me I had buried so deep I forgot she existed, the me that is strong and can do anything. The me that is capable of greatness.

I keep moving because in my mind there is no other choice. Ultras hurt, ultras suck, ultras are a terrible thing sometimes. But they are also amazing and life affirming and the best finishers high ever. They force you back into your body and to recognize how amazing it all is. There isn’t any stopping, any giving up, any not doing it.

I guess to apply what running has taught me to real life it would be just don’t quit, ever. Embrace the sucky times and the painful times because they are leading somewhere, they have a purpose. And if you don’t like a situation change it, keep moving forward, never stop moving forward.