Runnng its Own Reward?

Do you run for fun?  I mean when you are planning out the perfect day does  it include a run in your favorite spot?  Or does your perfect day mean you don't have to run.  I have friends that fall into both of those camps. Most every non-runner I meet when they find out I run, says something profound like "why?" In the spirit of full disclosure I can fully recognize that cognitive concern for my mental health, because 3 years ago I was the one asking that.  I had the same look of concern you give a doddering old loved one, when I asked it too.  But three years ago I did not run. That may be an understatement.  Three years ago I could not imagine the gravity shifting, climatic sea change the Earth would have to undergo before I would run anywhere, for any reason, up to and including self-preservation. 

Now when non-runners ask me why I run, I pause.  I try to process everything I know about them.  Do they really want to know?  Do they really want to hear that the absolute best way to experience a new place is to put on a pair of running shoes and get to know its twists, turns, bends, bumps, scars, and triumphs intimately on a little 6 mile run.  Do they really want to know that running in absolute silence under the stars watching your breath at 4:30 AM on a winter morning is like a spiritual experience I get to have everyday, before most people even think of starting their day? Do they want to know that I am actually a better, more centered, and stronger person because even though I wanted to stay in bed and skip my run; I looked at my running shoes already laid out and up to my tights sitting there waiting and got out the door instead?

The resounding answer is no.  The answer is no, not because they are or aren't good friends the answer is no, because they don't run.  Not a good or bad judgment, just a realization that if you haven't had that special relationship with running yet, none of those answers will make sense.  So what to say to the cosmic question, lest we think I am too philosophical. When asked why I run I usually say "bagels."  Now that's an answer we can all understand!