If you had asked me to run a mile two years ago, I couldn't have. I hated running and didn't understand why anyone liked it. After graduating high school, I realized I needed to find a way to exercise now that I couldn't simply go to practice like I had for the first eighteen years of my life. Eventually, I gave in and started running.

Guess what? I still hated it! I dreaded exercise and would put off going to the gym because I hated to run. Eventually, I started getting my cardio through swimming to avoid the dreaded treadmill. This was a lot more enjoyable for me; however, I always had to stop during the winters because of the long walks back to my dorm with a wet head.

It wasn't until about November of 2017 that I fell in love with running. While searching online for stress management techniques, I read that running can relieve stress. To me, this did not make sense. I had always found myself getting more stressed whenever I ran and didn't believe that anyone else would actually enjoy running; I thought people who liked running were either crazy, liked feeling fit or simply just tolerated it. I talked to a few friends who like to run, and they agreed that when they ran they felt less stressed.

My stress was overtaking my life, so I decided to try running again out of desperation and was pleasantly surprised. I found that running made me happier, less stressed and more energetic. Even though I was taking around an hour some days to run, I felt like I had more time. Running made me more productive with my other time and overall improved my life. I also noticed myself eating less junk food. When you start to see food as fuel for your body, it changes the way you think about food.

As soon as I started to see running as a way to help myself rather than a burden, I was able to see a completely different side of both running and myself. I use my time outside on the trail as a way to clear my thoughts and focus on the parts of my life that are important. Being alone on a trail for an hour a day helped me put my life into perspective and drown out negative energy around me.

When New Year's Day rolled around, I was looking for a new resolution. A friend of mine pushed me into signing up for the Columbus Capital City Half Marathon. Though it was hard to find time to train, I managed to find time to run as much as I could with my busy schedule. Sometimes this meant runs before the sun rose or after it set, but I made it one of my priorities to accomplish what I set out to do on January 1. I have rarely felt as accomplished in my life as I did when I crossed the finish line after 13.1 miles of pavement.

Now, when people call me crazy for liking to run, I laugh because I understand. I used to think that liking running was crazy too. After this weird journey, I know that running has improved my life and made me happier and healthier.