After finishing my senior season of high school cross country, I never thought I would want to run again.

But then a summer later, I put my running shoes on and fell back in love.

Running is a weird thing to love. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you have to tell your body to finish even when your mind has quit on you. It's a completely individual activity because no one else can make you keep running and that sucks more than anything. It's all you.

But yet, this is the sport I fell in love with. Maybe it was the people in cross country. Maybe it was the fact that it was easy to run. Either way, I stuck with it and never stopped.

I stopped racing almost four years ago. I miss that feeling right before a race and the rush of a gun going off. I miss the weird courses and crossing the finish line. I miss cross country. But thankfully, it gave me running, and the only thing I need for that is myself and a pair of shoes.

I couldn't imagine not running. I wouldn't have the many experiences of getting lost on beautiful trails or discovering new spots around me. I wouldn't have any mental toughness without this sport. It's a lot easier to convince myself that I can do just about anything when I remember I used to do a ten-mile long run at least once a week.

So I keep running. I keep adding miles to my shoes. I keep pushing myself to get out there no matter what the weather. I fell in love with running, and it's something that I hope to never lose.