I'd (Still) Love to Hear Your Story
Yes, I mean you
Everyone has a story.
Not just the special people, not just the super-accomplished people… and not just the people you saw running Boston earlier this week in your Instagram feed.
You have one too — I know you do.
And I’d love to hear it.
What kind of story am I looking for? Exactly the same kind we’ve heard recently from the likes of James, and Glenda, and Tyson, all of whom are fellow subscribers here at THM, and who shared their stories with us earlier this year.
Don’t think yours is like theirs? Hmmm…. well maybe yours is more like Lana’s, who moved to Texas with two young children (and four Yorkies) to raise her family and has found the time to make running a part of her life.
Or you’re like Alexandra, a self-described “dog mom, a sister, a partner, a friend, a runner, and a writer,” who fits in 25 to 35 miles a week of running while working for a university in alumni engagement.
Or you might be more like Michael, whose life took a nosedive right after high school, when he spent 18 months in prison. But his running has been key to the turnaround he’s made since then, as he’s now a father of five who regularly runs ultras.
(Or you might be more like me, whose story is decidedly less exciting! But still I share it with you on the journey we’re all on together.)
I’d love to hear about your journey with your running/health, the things you’ve learned, the epiphanies you’ve had, the things you’ve discovered. I’ll share them here in this space that we’ve created together, as I know we all can learn from what you’ve found.
Interested? I hope so.
Just reach out to me, either in the comments below or in a reply back to this email. After that, we can schedule a time to talk, or I can send you a list of questions and you can write me back your answers.
(That’s what most people I’ve interviewed for this series have done, by the way.)
In the meantime, I hope you’ve had a great week so far — as always, keep in touch and let me know how your running/life is going.
Your friend,
— Terrell
Explore more
There are so many more reader stories we’ve shared — like these:
I can’t run anymore. But rarely a day goes by without my walk. Even during 5 months of chemo! And I am 73.
My story...
I'm now 60 years old. I was a college athlete a LONG time ago. Met my wife right away in college and we've been together ever since. She was a MUCH better college athlete than I was too.
She has polymyositis, diagnosed just after we got married. Basically, it's a muscle enzyme disorder, one where her muscle enzymes attack her muscles instead of repairing them, creating a continual, losing, battle.
I was born in January. Just before I turned 50, just after Christmas, I realized I needed to take better care of myself [I'm 6'4.5" and had reached ~260 lbs] in order to be able to care for her. Walking, then running, became my means to an end.
Running has allowed me to be more healthy, both physically and mentally [now ~190 lbs] while also getting the "competitive" high I think I still needed. My running was primarily long distance [ran 11 half-marathons during that time] and now, as I've aged, I'm presently transitioning into sprint triathlons, with the eventual goal of competing with "olympic" distance triathlons.
Running solved a dilemma and also gave me a driven purpose and goal to meet. It brought me to this page and, while not as active here now as I have been, the support of the people on this page when "we" get to those plateaus we all hit, both with running and life, even simply when reading from "a far", has been a blessing.
I now hope to simply be able to continue to care for her while also continuing to get my "fix" from the competition, as I will continue to compete until my body says no more...