Legendary runner Colonel Ronald Rook once said, “I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.”

This quote perfectly encompasses why I run.

Everyone knows that running is good for your health. According to betterhealth.gov, running helps build stronger bones, strengthen muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness and maintain a healthy weight. Despite all the physical benefits, this still isn’t enough to get people to run, but for me is just an extra bonus.

I wouldn’t say that health isn’t a motivation for me either; of course I want to be healthy and active, but there is something else that drives me to run. For me it’s not the physical benefits that motivate me to run–it’s the relationships I’ve made. Running has given me friends, which has in turn gave me experiences that have changed me as a person for the better.

Cross country is a conduit for all those things. It is an official form of running at the high school level and is one of the best ways to enter the running community. An added bonus of being on a team for any sport is the incentive to be with other people you like.

Simply put, running is so much fun with other people, especially if they’re your best friends.

The cross country team has a culture where everyone is working to improve each other, directly as a runner and indirectly as a person. These are people I have gotten to know very well and have grown with because of them. Because of it, I’ve become more social with people inside and outside the team.

Outside of practices and meets, I hang out with friends that I’ve made from the team. Going over to each other’s houses to play video games, going outside to play frisbee golf or just sitting with each other at lunch during school, I’m with my best friends.

There’s also pasta parties, which are get-togethers at a team member’s house before a meet to eat pasta and carb load. In other team-bonding events, we crammed 40 guys into someone’s basement and watched movies, we tie-dyed shirts, played games and even sang karaoke together. Those are some of the greatest moments in my life, all stemming from interacting with the people I run with.

However, the vast majority of people will never experience this. Those turned away from running often cite the discomfort running causes, but it’s this hard work that really brings everyone together.

Running requires consistency that fosters the intense bond that I have formed with the guys around me. When you’re surrounded by guys that stick with the program as long as you do, it creates this sense of security knowing that dedication to push through the discomfort.

Running has gifted me so much joy from meeting people. So when people wrinkle their nose and ask why I run, I just think of the people that I’ll be with at practice.