I never thought I’d be writing a persuasive article on why people should run. Coming from a girl who once laughed at the idea of running as “exercise,” this article comes out of left field. 

Running the Gasparilla Half Marathon was also something I never expected to do. But people change, and so does life.

Going for a jog isn’t just about exercising to be more fit, it’s about conquering something hard to change your attitude.

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I started my journey running because I was tired – tired of feeling sad and gross.

My mom was losing her battle with cancer. I wasn’t liking school, I didn’t know what major I wanted to commit to, and I felt like I had no control over the sadness and stress that was creeping up.

But I had control over one thing: how I respond to the sucky things in life. 

After laying around dieting on junk food and social media, I decided to just go for a run. It was Jan. 1, the time everyone suddenly gets motivated to change the trajectory of their lives for a day. 

And I did it.

I stopped a lot – and man, was my pace slow – but I finished and felt like I conquered a mountain that was my own self-destruction of laziness. Gone was the desire to sit around and drown myself in momentary pleasures. I decided that I liked this feeling: the growth, strength, sweat and jolly attitude that comes after enduring pain. 

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It sounds pretty crazy, but committing to conquer something hard to reap the benefits of something better was the exact attitude I needed. I couldn’t cure my mom’s cancer or understand why God was allowing it to happen, but I could refuse to allow it to paralyze me. I could change my attitude. 

So I kept running. I use running as a way to get outside and clear my head, to ask God questions and reflect on how beautiful my life is. Even in the midst of sorrow, there are still blessings. 

Life has continued to get harder, but I’ve continued to grow stronger. I’ve traded momentary pleasures for something deeper in relationships and gratefulness and that’s because of the way running has challenged me.

Even though running isn’t a cure all, it’s a start to glow up from being a couch potato.

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If you want to start your running era, you can sign up for USF’s 5K for K-12 to celebrate Teacher Appreciation week on May 11. Or if you’re crazy, sign up for the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon on Feb. 23, 2025. 

You also might see me running around campus on Genshaft Drive and on Fletcher Avenue. A sunset run on campus is a pretty great way to end the day.

Even though life is pretty sucky, we get to choose how we decide to conquer it. I’m gonna keep running.