my running story

i was never a runner. definitely not.
-i was always that kid in middle school who came in last of obligatory 1.5km every two weeks.
-i was always that kid who NEVER made it to master track and field. not that i wanted to anyways.
-i never understood people who would say “i’m going jogging today!”
-when runners ran by, i would ask myself, “what do they think about when they run? what are they running for anyway?”

trust me. i was definitely NOT a runner. running was one of the things that made me most nervous and anxious. not exams, not presentations, but running. yup. it was bad.

then came september. back then, if you asked me how many miles i wanted to run that day, i would’ve laughed it off, saying “miles? pshh what miles?”. yep. maybe i could run one. or 1/2 of one.

then i joined the running club in college and i was exposed to the “runner’s world”. everyone in the club has been running cross country or track since freshman year of HIGHSCHOOL. but i was new. i’ve never ran a race. i’ve never ran, period.

so my first run was 3 miles and i almost died. i was not only slow but by the end of the run, my legs were wobbly, i was gasping for air, and my head was spinning. everyone else was perfectly fine and i felt pretty discouraged. i mean, if i’m this bad, how am i going to catch up with everyone?

so i started to run more. push myself. determined to get better and improve. slowly, i don’t know how this happened, but i started to actually ENJOY running. running became my therapy. my go-to de-stresser. this was the LAST thing i thought i would enjoy doing.

so i started to run longer. faster. i pushed myself. i was determined to get better. then i started to run in races.

here’s my very first 5k:


then my second:




then a 6k:




when i see how far i’ve come, i’m CERTAIN that if anybody WANTS to become a runner, they can! now, i can proudly call myself a “runner”!

i run almost everyday. my time is improving and the farthest i’ve run so far is 11 miles.

remember. with determination and effort, anybody can become a runner!