the Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances (The Oatmeal Book 5) the Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances

For years I asked every runner I know, from the most diehard to the least disciplined, why they run, but none was able to give me a clear answer. They all offered a generic response: “well-being,” of course, physical or mental. But one’s reason for running can’t be defined by that fleeting fistful of endorphins, since there are many human activitie

“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But don’t think that’s the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and

This is the point where my legs start to scream.

But the longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind—a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus. I don’t think anyone starts running distances to obtain that kind of vision. I certainly di