What did it take to get you running?

I wanted to do something to maintain my weight which wasn't going to cost the earth. I've just completed 2 local halfs in Somerset, UK and found that I like beating people as well haha.

First half 275th out of 813 = quicker than 538 other runners
Yesterday 289th out of 990 = quicker than 701 other runners

Not bad for someone who didn't start running properly until end of December.

I just wanted to see if I could do it. I started with a c25k program and ran my first 5k last spring. I did 5 total last year. This year my goal is a 10k. I have to set goals to keep motivated. The calories burned is also a plus, but now I am fighting my way through shin splints. Oh well....gotta push through.

Its a long, multi pronged story, but I started running because I hated cycling, which I started to do to lose weight and get in shape, in cold weather, so I would quit when it got cold and then wait too long to start back when it warmed up. I also had always had a desire to do a full marathon. I did a Disney 5k in 2010 and later that year Rock n Roll announced they were coming to my town so at 40, I decided I wasn't getting any younger and there was no time like the present to make it happen.

I was still afraid of the distance, something that seems silly now, so I found a training plan by Art Liberman and in Jan 2011, started 10 months out, it was just a process that I realized I enjoyed with the huge satisfaction of finally finishing the marathon. Along the way I did a few more 5ks, then 2 really big 10ks, Cooper River Bridge run and Peachtree Road Race which are 2 of the biggest races in the country, then another RunDisney event, the Wine n Dine half, and then the full. I had a great time at all of them but rarely was I with someone I knew, I stood in corrals alone, I ran alone, and I finished alone. I wasn't as fast as my fast friends but I was faster than my slow friends. But at the marathon my dad rode his bicycle to just past the midpoint and was there on the side so I stopped and gave him a hug and took a pic and took off. He went to the finish where my wife and kids were so I finally had family at the end of a race to see me cross the line. It was amazing, all races should be like that. I'm also on Twitter and had huge support along the way all day, from friends tweeting me encouragement, I couldn't even respond to them all, many were friends of my friends that I didn't even know but they saw our common friend supporting me and they did the same.

I took 2012 less seriously and foofed off all year, I think my brain disengaged and said "meh, you did it..." but I still signed up for races and at Rock n Roll 2012 I suffered a lot, I was not ready and it was too hot that day for my out of shape self. So I made the commitment then that I would do this right, again, because I wanted to see if I could break a certain time, so I've started my program again, a little wiser, far more confident, and in better shape.

You want motivation to run, go do a RunDisney event! They are strict on the 16min pace but that's based on the last corral, every corral up from the end you have an extra 5 minutes. You can WALK a 16minute pace. Just sign up for a half marathon and then get out there and do it, without making excuses of why you can't, you'll quickly realize that distance really doesn't mean anything and the whole world will seem a little closer.

a divorce

I have never been a runner and was starting to work out through a fitness program at work. Soon after my daughter's middle school cross country team was doing a family vs kids 2 mile race. Couldn't pull this one out of my hat like I can with other sports. Realized how out of shape that I was. Since then my goal has been to catch up with my 12 year old daughter. Still working on it.

Also found some connections on MFP to help inspire me to keep going and make it part of my exercise routine. Just finished another 5k this weekend and getting geared up for my first 10k in a couple of months. Shooting for a half marathon and a marathon this year too.

My sister found a color run and my family went out and did it. From that point on I was determined to not feel like I was going to die doing something that loads of other people can do in 20 minutes with no problem. And now I'm hooked!

I was obese and I wanted to prove I could do more than just lose weight. I wanted to show my dad that I wasn't a lost cause, so I started c25k loosly (as in, I barely followed to plan). I like feeling like I've accomplished something great.

When I became dedicated to changing my life and got the eating under control, I wanted to add in some exercise that was efficient. I was too broke to buy a gym membership but found that running burned more calories per minute than anything else I could do for free at home. So I downloaded C25K and did it. Then sometime last year, the running became more therapeutic than efficient, and I found it was my free time each day to relax, not think about anything else but the run, and I liked the solitude and constant challenges to get better. I like that I can compete with others or purely with myself. Races are super addictive, but I like the smaller ones, not the huge events like Color Run (which I did a few weeks ago and found it to be too social for me...going against one of the things I like best about running).

I've never met a fat runner. That's why I run.

The first answer, 60 pounds ago, was that when I only had 30 minutes to spend at the gym, a workout on the treadmill earned me the most calories

The second answer, after a few months getting used to the treadmill but still sure I "hated" running, was when I missed working out Thursday and Friday and was getting just anxious enough by the weekend to consider an outside run, which wound up being a discovery of miles of running trails through a beautiful forest right by my house

I've loved it ever since

A zombie run that I heard about. No lie. :-)

I also use the Zombies, run! 5k app. :-)

^^this^^

I ran some a few years ago (can't remember why I stopped really, but i did) then I did a run/walk with my son maybe every other weekend?? cuz he would bug me! haha! but then I found out about the Zombies, Run! app and I was intrigued... I got it and the zombies, Run! 5k app since I was fairly out of shape and thought I could use it. I love the app. I don't use it as often as I did because I am training for a 1/2 marathon in May, but for my fun runs I still use it.

7th grade pe teacher! I ran the pt course faster than everyone, she recruited me! Ran thru high school and the Navy, then fell out of it, tinkered once in a while, had hip issues, then plantar fasciitis. DH had a hip resurfacing last year, and I decided to start walking. It was taking too long for me, so my three mile walk turned into a mile walk, 2 mile run...pushed a bit too much, but remembered the great feeling, and am working back into it

A small stroke in Nov. 2011, never seeing fat runners around here, runner's high & setting a goal to run for St. Jude's. OH YEAH, and YOU motivating me! Thank you!

My 10 year old son. He wanted to run a 5k and there is no way I will let him run by himself in a race. I found a race that is kid friendly so we signed up. The best part is training with him, its something we do together. I personally hate running, but I have never completed a 5k, its great to see my son wanting to be physically active (how can I not support that) and I am hoping my older son will jump on the band wagon.

The 5k is in June so right now we train together 1-2x per week. I take cycling 2x per week because I clearly need additional training for the cardio and endurance.

Because it is something in which I am competing against myself. I'm doing 5K runner (C25K like program) and every time I am sure that this is the day I can't do it, and then I spend the running time convincing myself to just go one more minute, one more song, one more half-minute. And it feels like such an accomplishment whenever I finish
And the high calorie-count doesn't hurt either