Reasons to Love Running (That Have Nothing to Do With Fitness)

I’ve talked in the past about how running is the only form of exercise I’ve ever been able to stick to, but it’s not just fitness that motivates me to keep pulling on my running shoes, even when running is the very last thing I want do. Here are some other reasons to love running…

// THINKING TIME

I don’t know about you, but I often feel like there’s no time to think in my day-to-day life. I’m always busy doing something, whether it’s working, running the house, or even just relaxing in front of the TV. That leaves running as my main “thinking time”: there are no interruptions, and nothing to occupy my mind other than putting one foot in front of the other, which means my mind is free to wander where it will. That’s not always a good thing, of course, but I’ve had some of my best ideas while running (and some of my worst ones too, but let’s not dwell on those, shall we?), and sometimes it’s good to just be alone with your thoughts.

// GOOD MUSIC

I used to listen to music constantly, but these days, as with the point above, I hardly ever seem to get the time, other than when I’m out running. I shared some of my favourite songs to run to here, but I also sometimes like to listen to Spotify radio, or use the various playlists there to discover new songs. If it wasn’t for that, I’d probably be even MORE out of touch with the world of popular music than I am now!

// GETTING TO KNOW YOUR LOCAL AREA A LITTLE BETTER

Until I started running, I new very little about the area I lived in, purely because I went everywhere by car, and didn’t have many opportunities to go out and explore on foot. To be honest, I’d assumed there wasn’t much to see in the town I used to live in, so when I started running, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things I discovered – and which I’d never had known about if I’d kept on taking the car!

// THE GREAT OUTDOORS

I’ve never really considered myself much of an outdoors girl: I’d much rather be curled up with a good book than… well, ANYTHING, really. Running, however, gave me a new appreciation for nature, and I found it really interesting to see the changing landscape through all of the different seasons. These days I actually miss it if I haven’t managed to fit in a run for a while – which I guess says it all, really!

// AN EXCUSE TO BUY CUTE CLOTHES

Honestly, even just a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamt of describing running clothes as “cute”, but these days I more or less live in workout gear most of the time, and I’ve actually started to incorporate sneakers (most of which come c/o  Spartoo) into my everyday wardrobe, too, as you might have noticed if you follow my other blog. I’d never have thought it, but I’m actually really enjoying wearing them, and am finding them a good solution to the current “spring” temperatures – it still feels too cold for bare feet in pumps, but somehow sneakers are a bit more acceptable!

Any other runners out there? What do you love most about running?