Why So Many Runners Know the Exact Day They Started Running

Heimlich from “A Bug’s Life” is one of my favorite Disney characters. Even though he looks to us like a big, squishy caterpillar, he knows he will someday become a (spoiler alert) “beeeauuuuteeeefulll butterfly.”

Have you ever felt like Heimlich? I mean, pre-butterfly.

I did. It was after my son was born at the end of May in 2008. Once the figuring-it-out phase of motherhood concluded, I inched through life like a slug. I felt like one, too.

It wasn’t so much the weight that got to me; it was the lethargy. The absolute lack of purpose beyond being a mother. Being a mom is an important job, no doubt, but we shouldn’t forget that we are also individuals.

I shed that life, though, the day I started running.

For many people running is more than exercise. For many people, including me, running represents a transformation.

And that’s why so many runners can tell you the exact day they started running.

Mine was July 18, 2009. What was yours?

And if you don’t have one yet, but are ready to transform your life, do me a favor: Open up your calendar to today’s date and write, “I started running.” Now, put on your shoes, go outside and become beeeauuuuteeeefulll butterfly!