Part I: Why I run

I started running for the obvious reasons:  it's good for your health, it helps keep my weight in check, it's a fairly inexpensive exercise (sooo wrong about that one), it lifts the mood, etc.  But in past couple of years, running has taken on new meaning.  Meanings that I never expected.

Put simply, the main reason I now run is because it's become a spiritual exercise.  My mind is cleared of modern clutter, and I focus with a clarity that I rarely experience in any other venue.  I have never felt more grateful for my health, or for God's creation, than when I run.

"Thank you, God, for my lungs.  They work, and I'm alive. Thank you so much, God, for these legs that move.  They hurt, but I'm grateful to have them."  These are the not-so-complicated things I think.

Simple, private prayers of thanksgiving between God and me bubble forth so easily when I run, and I feel God's presence.  The beauty of a fading sun, long shadows of the evening, redbuds blossoming in spring -- all remind me of the Creator who made it all. (Can you tell I'm a late day runner?)

In every walk (or run) with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir