"So tell me: why RUNNING?"

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This was the question of our coach during the Runner's World Running Clinic. I attended it last January 22 and 23, 2011. We were doing our run as a start of the second day morning session.


Good thing I wasn’t the first one to answer the question. But we were only ten in the group, so I had to compose my answer while trying not to trip. Our rate of exerted pace (REP) was five; meaning, we were capable of talking while running.

As we were running towards front of SM Mall of Asia, I really pondered on the question: WHY RUNNING?

I was a kid who had the privilege of having enough playtime hours. But it didn’t occur to me that I was interested in any sport.

Later in high school, I admitted to be a basketball fan. I watched every game that I got to see on the tube and have memorized the rules of the game. But I never vowed to play it in my lifetime (the last time I tried, I got exhausted).

There was a time when I entered a wellness center. I did aerobics. Since I can dance, I loved every minute of it. The wellness center is located in front of our office, so aerobics was just a few steps away.

I looked forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays because of that. There came a time when I was other colleagues. They also enjoyed it because of the wellness center's proximity. It didn’t even bother me when the president of the company where I worked before (let’s call him the Singing President) saw me perfecting a move during one session.

But then, more work came on the way, and I missed one session. And a week. And a month.

Six months.

Nada.

I was not really not a fan of any gym equipment. I tried doing that for two weeks (with an interval of every other day) and my muscles immediately did a protest.

“So tell me, PeñaRUNzi: why running?”

I could go on with my story, but since our coach has pressed me the question, I answered: “Because I hate going to gym, using those equipments, and ending up with aching muscles.”