Why running?

I'm curious to hear from folks willing to say, why running? What made you decide to give it a go?

Around 15 years ago, I knew I needed to do something. I wasn't getting any younger and I was starting to pile on weight. In addition, I was in a place where I felt useless and incapable of anything worthwhile. At the time, I lived near a lake with a paved trail all the way around it. I looked up the distance and found it was a bit over one and a quarter miles. I decided I was going to run around that lake without stopping if it killed me.

I knew nothing about running. I put on sneakers, old jeans and a sweatshirt and set out. The first hundred yards went by like nothing and I was already thinking about a bigger challenge, when my first wind was gone. Soon I was gasping, taking ragged steps and sweating heavily. I was forced to drop to a walk or pass out. For some reason the experience made me more determined to finish.

Ultimately it took some six months before I could do it regularly and without staggering at the finish. The day I passed my finish point and didn't need to lay on the grass, I felt like I could do anything. I think I've generally been more positive in general since then.