Martha: Runner

I run, sometimes because I’m forced to, other times because I want to. Regardless of the why or the how or the who’s making me, I run. Running places a connection that exists few other places, the movement, the connection between arms, legs, lungs, heartbeat, possibly soul is incredible and in some ways terrifying. What is reached in that moment is a place of terror, a place of ecstasy, a place of balance and trust. Running is like falling in forward motion, you have to trust yourself, trust your body to catch you on each step or you’re going to fall and look like a fool doing so. I try to run outside whenever I can, I try to go off trail, I try to fly when I run. I love the feeling of freefall, not connected to anything connects you to everything. The further off trail, the more I jump and leap and try to defy what pulls me back to the ground, that isn’t reachable on sidewalks. Thankfully there are still places in this world where the sidewalks end, the problem is just getting there. Running is joyful because you can see so well as long as you can see at all. Look past the haze that forms in front of your eyes and suddenly it becomes possible to see the world as it is rather than as someone wants it to be. Running through nature allows you to become a piece of it, even if it’s just a tiny piece.