A few years ago a sister gave me some reels of 8mm Kodachrome movie films (developed I should mention) which I promptly had digitized, five of them anyway. They had been shot by my father starting in the mid 50's, and among the footage was a few seconds of myself, and my other sister, my twin sister, running - NOT together - on the driveway of the new house we had just moved into, age one-and-a-half. There was a terrific smile across my face the whole time, proof positive that I really enjoyed running from early on. The sense of self-efficacy (I would later think of it as), the sensation of speed, for what it was. Over the years, I remember running often, daily - fun, activities - and by pre-tween I had started to do so in a more structured, sustained way. I ran track, initially the 660, then mostly half- and quarter- mile, some race walking one year, and of course XC, in HS. For this short, scrawny kid, it had become the foundation of what-it-meant-to-be as engaged/active, fit, and healthy as I could be, a framework for living a well grounded life, and to be part of community. After HS, over the next two decades, I ran by myself, recreationally, semi-seasonally... getting back into competition when in my mid thirties. Took me a few years to figure it out, including the belief (understanding) that competition is with oneself, mostly. I had a very rewarding "second career" through my forties and a little after that, pretty consistent race performances, at a range of distances, preferably on road courses (of which I was master's rating of ~80) though many on trails, as well as a little XC and indoor monthly winter meets. Recently, though I've no problems with joints, back, muscle sprains & spasms... running is no longer blesses me that sense of enchantment and reward as it had, I run less for sure, but knowing how important movement and daily measured effort is, how much it is part of my lifestyle, my routine, I have substituted workouts on my Nordic Track ("Achiever") here at home, arc trainer, until recently at clubs, get around town by bike in the warm season and walking in the winter and at other times; I'm considering joining the local boat club come spring.