How Running Has Transformed My Life and How It Can Transform Yours

As a kid I loved to run. Whether it was chasing or racing friends, running was something that I grew up loving to do. And I continued to run in high school, competing in the 110 meter high hurdles, 300 meter intermediate hurdles and the 4 x 400. But somewhere over the years I noticed I stopped running as much. Sure, I still ran a couple of nights a week, but that was more of an ad on to my weight lifting routine, and just another avenue that I thought would help me stay fit. But in the Spring of 2006 my brother Wyatt called me to see if I wanted to run the Chicago Marathon with him. I don't remember the details of our conversation, but I remember agreeing to do do with very little hesitancy. Sure, I had never run more than 3 miles at one time in my life, but that didn't seem to bother me. I guess I figured I would....figure it out. So I trained for 16 weeks and ended up running the marathon in about 4:13. And at that moment I became addicted to running. I entered another marathon, ran a few 5K's, half-marathons, and eventually a 50k in February of 2014. And at the time of this writing I am training for the Palo Duro 50 Mile race in October. And over the years, especially this last year, I have really found that not only has running continued to transform my life, but it has brought me great joy. I look forward to getting out and running because I never come back from a run with any regrets. In this podcast I explore several things: my own personal journey with running and how it has transformed my life. 10 benefits (and more) that running brings to your life. 7 tips to get you started in running, or to help renew your interest in running. 5 books that have inspired my running and that will inspire you.   Resources Mentioned in the Podcast Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Most Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself by Rich Roll Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Ever Seen by Christopher McDougall Why We Run: A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman