Running is me.

I started like everyone else, somehow you just found yourself running and all of a sudden your life changed. It was almost like I found myself.

It was happiness.

I began to train more, work harder, diet, and I felt so good. I felt like with every step I took, I was flying higher and higher. I loved it, it was becoming a hobby.

It was love.

I started to have bad days, but I always had something to look forward to. Every day I longed for the shoes pounding on the pavement, the sore muscles screaming, the heart burning, and the lungs feeling pressured. It was pain, but I loved the pain.

It was comfort.

It became my identity. I was that runner, and I was that fast runner too. People looked at me, and they saw a crazy, fit, distance runner. I liked that, and I knew that was what I wanted to be.

It was me.

Running is me.

- Riley Jo ( @rileyjojogs )