To the runner,
It never ceases to amaze me how someone who claims they could never run long distance seems to be able to run forever. Believe me, running is hard. It’s tiring and if feels like there is no end. For me, running is purely physical. I run on pavement, grass, and dirt. For you, on the other hand, it’s mental. You have never physically run to the point of exhaustion. You have never felt the rush of adding another 10 miler to your belt. What you do is much worse: you run from your problems.
You never stop running. Sometimes, when you meet someone, you slow your pace down and taper off into a slow jog. But you don’t stay in one place. You are never committed. You have never experienced the comforting feeling of someone else being your home. Face it; you have spent all your life moving from one place to another so it is only natural for you to not want to stay. You are the worst kind of person that exists in my world, you are the runner.
Something happened along your route called life that made you this way. You can blame your family, your living conditions, your financial situation, you can even blame me. But you are to blame. You are completely at fault for what you have become.
You will die alone, but only because of your own accord. You are too scared to let someone love you. And damn it, against all odds, you are so lovable. It’s truly mind-blowing how unlovable you think you are. In about 10 years, when you have run away from enough people to call yourself a marathon winner, your shoes will wear out. You’re going to be tired of running away. But you have already become your own worst enemy. You will have burned all your bridges and yet still you wonder why nobody can come visit you. You have destroyed the only path worth taking.
This letter, although one that will never reach your eyes, is saddening. I know that I am just one of the people, out of many more to come, that will have to face the whiplash that comes from holding onto you. You left me in the dust. You take the literal sense to disappearing without a trace. You couldn’t have run faster away. But you did. You managed to go to the other side of the world, and the worst part was that I helped you. That’s why you’re a part of the worst kind of people. You somehow manage to wrap everyone into your escape plan. You may have hurt me now, but your time will come because no matter how fast you run, you will only run into yourself. I hope one day you will have retired your running shoes, as I have, and settle down. Until then, just remember, the winner of the race still crosses the finish line alone.
