Hearing your stories: Edith Zimmerman

'I would NEVER have thought running was for me'

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May 28, 2025

Morning, friends! ☀️ You may remember a few months ago, when I put out a call to share your stories about how you became a runner and where running has taken you.

I’m blown away by the responses I’ve received, as we’ve heard so many fantastic, moving and insightful stories from readers like Rosalie Chan, Erinn Connor, Ken Morrison, Colleen McBride, Chanse Carlson, Debby Jones, and Ruth Franklin.

Today, we hear from longtime THM member

Edith Zimmerman

, whose newsletter
Drawing Links
is one of my absolute, must-read, favorite newsletters — it makes me laugh, it makes me think, it hits me with all the feels. Seriously, go sign up now and then come back and read Edith’s story, which I promise you’ll love as much as I did.

And if you’d like to share yours, please know that I’d love to hear it! I truly, truly am trying to “meet” as many THM readers and members as I can — so, all you need to is reply back by email or in the comments below, and we’ll go from there. — Terrell

So, let’s hear a little bit about you! Who are you, your age (if you’d like to share), where you’re from, what you do, etc.

My name is

Edith Zimmerman

, and I live in upstate New York with my husband and two young daughters. I’m turning 42 in June, and my main work these days is my newsletter, Drawing Links, which I illustrate with comics and stories about my life. I’m also a freelance writer and illustrator, and I just had my first cartoon published in The New Yorker!

What does your running routine look like? How many times a week, and how far do you run?

I run most days, usually six times a week, about 25 miles a week.

Were you an athletic kid growing up? What are your early memories of what fitness and health were about?

I was not. I was a theater kid in high school, and while I was curious about sports/fitness, I got a vague sense at some point that they were “not for me.” As the years passed, I felt more uneasy about this, although I mostly tried not to think about it.

Logically I knew that fitness was for everyone, but I also never felt comfortable “working out,” so I wasn’t sure what my deal was, or what I was supposed to do. I just assumed I was naturally lazy and sedentary. I did like dancing, though, at parties and contra dances, and I’d do that maybe four times a year.

I was also a pretty heavy drinker and smoker, which were habits I prioritized. Then I quit both, and other habits (like running) eventually came to fill the gap. I wrote about this for Vogue last year, if anyone is interested.

How did you first get into running? Was there something that inspired you — like a performance at the Olympics, for example, or a runner you discovered by watching them on social media or TV? Or was there someone in your own life who inspired you to think, “maybe I can do this?”

It was luck. I would NEVER have thought running was for me.

I had gotten into an exercise class called The Bar Method, done at a studio in a big group, when Covid hit and sent everyone back home. I was 36. The studio offered remote classes as a holdover, but I didn’t like them, so I was more open to taking a friend up on his offer to join a Strava-based running group. We’d all just do our little exercise routines and then upload them for the group to see later.

The fact that we were part of a group but didn’t have to actually do anything in front of one another (I still don’t like the idea of running with anyone) appealed to me. Initially I mostly walked and occasionally trotted, until eventually I ran the whole way around Prospect Park without stopping (in Brooklyn, where I lived at the time — a little more than three miles). That was thrilling. Then I was hooked. The fact that I like running remains one of the biggest surprises of my life.

How has your interest in running evolved since then? Do you run farther, or faster now?

My interest has become an obsession. The only times I’ve missed more than a few days of running were the months around when my two daughters were born. I run faster now, but shorter distances, because we moved upstate and the roads are hilly.

What do you balance your running with? Do you have a family to take care of? Kids, parents or other relatives or loved ones? If so, how do you balance all of it and still make time to run/care for yourself?

I do have a family. I’m technically a stay-at-home-mom (?), but we also recently hired a full-time nanny, and my older daughter goes to daycare, so I’m trying to figure out what I should do for money next. So I’m more free, but I’m in that awkward phase where I’m like, Well, what’s it going to be, then?

Before we had childcare, my husband would watch the baby when he could, which put some strain on our relationship. I’d basically simmer with resentment any time he couldn’t do it, because it felt like my running habit was essential for our whole family, even though I knew it was reasonable for him to be busy. I’m very grateful those days have passed. Also I love the running stroller.

Is there anything you’re especially proud of that you can point to your running and say, “this helped me achieve ______”?

Sometimes I feel proud just of running itself, especially since it’s something I never thought I’d be able to do. Sometimes when I’m feeling sorry for myself, I’m like, Well, I’m not a total loser, I ran today.

I also like running. It’s not “fun,” exactly, and it doesn’t “feel good,” either, although those are the words I use. It’s boring and it feels bad, but it’s also fun and it feels good. It’s boring and it feels good. It’s fun and it feels bad. I think I mostly just really like that I do it. I get a lot out of it, identity-wise.

What have you learned about yourself from your running journey? Is there anything that’s changed about you since you started?

A lot has changed since I started running (which was only six years ago!). I got married, had two kids, bought a house, and moved to the country. (And deep in my heart I think I owe a lot of that to running.) I put work on hold for a while. I started new work paths. In some ways running has felt like one of the only constants in my life.

I learned that I am able to keep myself warm. I used to be afraid of the winter and think it was a time for only being indoors, scampering from the car to the house, but running throughout the year, including in freezing weather, has taught me a lot about how powerful the human body is. It’s a furnace. Running five miles in five-degree weather boosted my self-esteem.

And on a lighter note, I learned something ABOUT running (well, I’ve learned a lot of things about running), which is that you’re supposed to try to look cute and happy when you come across a finish line! Lol.

I didn’t realize there were automatic cameras going off, but this photograph, from my first and so far only half marathon, makes me smile and is way more accurate than a smiling photo:

Where would you like to go with your running? Is there anything special you’d like to achieve — like, say, running all six World Marathon Majors, or running an ultra?

I’d love to run a full marathon. I’ve only done one half so far (and a bunch of 5Ks). I’d also love to do running tourism — traveling the world, running half marathons and sight-seeing. My husband would quit his job to cheer me on, and my children would develop an interest in sitting still and waiting to clap for me when I cross the finish line, lol.

What keeps you going? Especially if you’ve been running for a while — do you ever get bored with it? How do you find new things to motivate you, to keep you going?

I am afraid to disappoint myself. It’s part of my identity now. I’m also afraid of losing my fitness level or, truthfully, of gaining weight. Running also helps me change my mood and get out of my head. (Although sometimes I get MORE into my head, but in a different way…)

I also love running CLOTHES. In my “regular” life, I was very much an “earth tones, natural fabrics” person, but wearing tight neon stretchy outfits has opened a wonderful door for me. I really love how silly, beautiful, and useful running clothing can be. And it turns out I love bright pink! And patterns! No need to be subtle!

Look back at yourself when you were a kid, maybe say 10 years old. Remember how you felt, what you thought, especially what you thought you were capable of back then. If you could talk to that kid now, what would you say?

I would say, “You will become a runner, isn’t that insane?!” But I’d also say to just wait and not rush anything, because I like that I came to running “late.” There’s no diminished glory or anything to compare myself to.

The Half Marathoner

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