Why I Run

I run, or think about running, almost every three days. This is why.

This is a photo of me running.

I run to smell the daffodils on Skysail Lane

I run to watch the squirrels frolic among the Red Oaks on Breakwater Drive

I run to feel the fresh Colorado mountain air, suffused with ash and smoke and diesel exhaust, invade and eventually compromise my lungs

I run because there’s no better time to blast “Return of The Mack” directly into my eardrums than at 7:45 a.m.

I run to feel these tiddies bounce

I run to keep these tiddies from expanding because new wardrobes are expensive and I have $67 in my checking account

I run to forget how much I have in my checking account, for I am rich in youth

I run to be blindsided by someone in a minivan that “didn’t see the stop sign,” because I am rich in youth and not in currency, and at this point, I’d trade some for the other

I run to watch the golfers tee off on the seventh hole, and to yell “your family misses you” if I pass them on a weekday around 5:30 p.m.

I run to see Lila, the Black Lab on Mariner Lane, who knows my scent and greets me with licks on the driveway

I run to escape the German Shepard two houses down, who seems to have been hardened by emotional trauma and can easily jump the four-foot chain-link fence on which it leans

I run to see what Mrs. McCarthy is making for lunch, and my! how her grandchildren have grown since I found this stepladder lying below their living room window

I run because I love Mr. Daschle’s hammock chair, the one that blows empty in the breeze

I run because it’s easier to evade the authorities on foot, especially when they waste precious breath yelling things like “stop running!“ and “drop the hammock!” and “you’re a threat to the children!”

I run to teach others you never fully appreciate something until it’s gone

I run because one day, when my bones are plaster and my tendons overheat after three seconds of use, I won’t be able to

And I’ll have a cough from chainsmoking wildfires

And my tiddies will bounce too much

And I’ll miss treading ground with my aching body

But that’s the magic of running

The more I feel like death, the further I know I am from it

Cover Photo by RUN 4 FFWPU from Pexels, which I ruined with my face