Who got you into running?

In middle school I couldn't catch a ball well, shoot a basketball, and got tired of soccer. I was fast so I did what sport I could. I can now catch a ball well, still suck at basketball, and am a mediocre high school runner. I wish I would've stuck with soccer longer to be honest, although I still would've went out for track.

When we ran the mile in gym during elementary school I crushed it, the teacher told me about 'cross country' that I could compete in at middle school and I'd be pretty good at it. I went on to be a state champion in high school and D1 all-american, and a pretty good post college career. My life would be so different without gym class in school, I doubt I would have ever run a race if I didn't know I was decent at running from gym class.

I thought I would be good at it. Then I saw all the hot shirtless girls and there was no turning back.

My Mother/elder brother. He was a so called "bench warmer" on the second soccer team of the local club, so she thought that he with his fast long legs should do something different. She suggested orienteering, he started with it and quite immediately qualified for the Norwegian orienteering final for beginner boys. I had no thoughts of not starting doing the same so from 10 yo I have been running and training. Tried to get as good at it as possible until age of 27 and after that more or less been doing training for keeping the ability or for running fast with moderate training volumes. Mostly for orienteering which is long and hard distance work and lately I have plans of running faster on the road so I do mostly training for flatter road

Every year we had a school sports day which was held off site and everyone travelled to it. It was something a lot of people looked forward to. It was completely optional but you could pick up to two or three events and depending on your times in PE class, you could enter and run.

I decided to enter the 1500m, and trained for it for about six weeks on the school playing field. I won and broke the school record (which was quite slow, but at the time it felt like an achievement). I really enjoyed it so decided to join an athletics club.

Me, Myself, & I.

I started running to get in shape for climbing mountains in the Cascades when I was 15.

A kid at my high school convinced me to come out for XC as it would help me in basketball.

He was wrong on several counts, but I found my spot.

No one really got me into running it just happened. Me and my brothers and kids in the neighborhood use to race in the streets to see who is the fastest. Then we had field day at school and we race then in field day.

Long ago when I was in 5th or 6th grade, my dad would take me and my older brother and two younger sisters to play tennis. Next to the tennis courts was a strange track. It was 8 laps to a mile with high banked turns. We decided to have a one lap race one day and I was in last place behind my younger sisters at the end. Embarrassed at my lack of speed, I kept running more and more laps. I ended up doing two miles and my dad said I would make a good cross-country runner. I did not know what that was, but I went out for the team in ninth grade.

39 years old. 5'2" Probably all the time in the world to train. 3:50.

V.A. doc. 1963. Got me out of bed to jog laps in a gym w him while he shot baskets. My hands were wrapped so I couldn't shoot. Kept increasing the time I was jogging for a few months. Kept at it after I was released, on the beach then on the roads. Became a habit.

During school days it was something we did during autumn ski training. I was far behind most of the guys but I was always among the best in my class at school. After finishin school, I didn't do any organized sport but kept running in periods in order to return and stay in shape. Last time I started running it was in order to return to shape. Haven't stopped after reaching shape.

Pretty much parents. The 70s running boom had them off running 10Ks just about every weekend, so I tagged along and started running them. I'd improve 5 minutes or so every time, so there it started.

I got a detention for something that wasn't my fault( the principal apologized afterward). Anyways I had detention and my punishment was running laps for an hour. I wasn't about to let the principal win this one so I didn't stop for my rest breaks and didn't show any sign of fatigue just to say F you! She wouldn't leave me alone after that, every day for a year she nagged me about joining the xc team so I eventually gave in. I became the best on the team and realized that I was actually kind of good so I'm still doing it 6 years later.

just about everyone joined track in my middle school, so i did too. i ran a 58 in the 400m in 8th grade and i wasn't used to winning at anything.

here i am