Running is a lifestyle, and it shapes you into a different person. Whether we like to admit it or not, you have to be a little crazy to be a runner; that's the fun of it. Running has taught me to always push forward, even in the toughest of times. It never gets easier, you just get stronger.

Running has made me realize that your biggest challenge isn't someone else or the person you're competing against. Rather, it is the ache in your lungs, the burning in your legs, and the voice inside your head that yells "I CAN'T." However, you don't listen; you have to keep pushing, harder and harder. And, then suddenly, you hear the same voice whisper "I CAN." That's when you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the person that you really are.

You don't understand until you get that feeling--a runner's high they like to call it. It's not something you can explain, but something happens when you're out there and your body is in rhythm with your breathing, your heart, and your mind. You feel above everything around you, quite an exhilarating feeling. But it doesn't stop there; when you're done running, it's a feeling of satisfaction and achievement. There's nothing else quite like it. You get addicted to that feeling when you're done; you love feeling empty, clean, worn out, and sweat purged. You love the good aches of muscles that have made you so proud.

Once you see results, it becomes an addiction. Because success in running means leaving your comfort zone, and runners learn to love their discomfort zone. To be a runner means you would rather be standing at the top of a hill you just dominated, unable to breathe, feeling ready to puke, and hair matted to your forehead than at the bottom wondering what it would feel like.