On the run I don’t think about how long I will live or how running is affecting the length of my life. I think about the incredibly rich challenges and joys of being on the run.

On the run is where I discover the unexpected me. It’s where I unexpectedly rise to a challenge and where I unexpectedly have an epic failure. It’s where the time-worn story of limitations I tell myself again and again on the couch is proven to be a lie.

On the run is where I learn that nature’s elements are not enemies, they argumentative but supportive companions. They don’t argue to keep me from succeeding, they argue to provide the challenges that create the success.

On the run is where I search for who I really want to be and find out who I really am. Sometimes there is a wide crevasse between the two and it is disappointing and deflating. But on the run is also where I have those magical moments where there is no distance between who I want to be and who I am.

On the run I experience all those things; challenges, joys, arguments, the expected and unexpected, the frustrating gaps and the sublime moments.

On the run I add life to my days, not just days to my life.


Drawing and commentary © 2019 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com