I run for many reasons. I run because I like the challenge. I am deeply competitive. I run because I like to push myself. I run to show myself I am alive. I run for the solitude. I run to get away from the trappings of life, love and work. They do exist. I run because it seems pure and natural. I run because I was never too good at many other things.

What keeps me moving? The growth that comes from pushing through pain. The realization that life is hard and this is no different. The fact that pain only hurts but failure leaves a scar. I push on because my sister lost her fight, I will not lose mine.

This picture I like because it gives a sense of the fields, the skies, the mountains. I love the void that trail running brings. It’s stillness forces you to break free of today’s world. I run for that void. That calm that comes over me.