You can quit running. It will be ok.

Way to go. Life is about trying to figure out what makes you feel alive, and maybe having a family and taking care of them. You are on your way.

Great post…and your last words are so true.

But wait…I hear a rumbling in the distance…

Here come the haters…those who have their lives totally invested in running, with their emotional responses…

Any time now…

Paragraphs are your reader’s friend.

This hits close to home for me. I’m sitting here in bed in pain again, injured with literal nerve damage because I couldn’t get it through my thick skull that I needed to take time off. I’m in a never ending cycle of injuries and it’s ruining my mental health. Sometimes it’s not worth it to try to run 80 mpw just to be a little bit faster.

Sometimes? Ever heard of the 80 / 20 principle? Might save you a bit of misery…

Running is like most endeavors, it can be a healthy outlet or a destructive obsession. It really depends on the mental frame of the individual.

I once put my value on how fast I could run a race. Now I realize that was all vain. However, I still enjoy running as an outlet. Nothing like running effortlessly through a curvy trail or seeing a sunrise while cresting a hill. Also, being fit is much better than a fat slob. Again not for the vanity but for how much better you feel just doing basic things.

My suggestion is to run a daily hour. But let the run come to you. Run as fast or slow as you like. Ignore the gps watch. Explore new places and look for opportunities to run with new people. Run to clear your mind from all the garbage in life. Jump in a race whenever you want. But enjoy the competition as a way to push you, not as an enemy to be beaten. It really is a lot more fun this way.

You do realize there is a body composition between stick figure distance runner and fat slob right?

it seems runners always deflect “being skinny if better than being fat!” Well there’s a body in the middle of that that happens to be the most desirable for women. And the distance runner is just as far as the slob is from achieving it

Your perspective is understandable and you made a wise decision.

Trying to be a competitive runner is a miserable existence if your heart is not into it.

The cool thing though is that sometimes the passion goes and comes back. For example, many of us older folks find enjoyment in trying to hit a certain age graded percentage after being away from it for many years.

I've been injured for the past 5 months. I can't turn over in bed without pain on the left side of my groin. I can't sit up without pain. Progress on a diagnosis is very slow.

I was never a competitive runner and I didn't run in college, but it is one of the few things that kept me going. I have no partner, no friends. It got me out of the house. I have gained some perspective from all of this but honestly, this really sucks. Walking isn't the same.

Amen brother. You described it pretty well. It's all about how you look at running and why you run. Motivation without pressure is the best foundation to enjoy the sport and deliver good results.

Been around the sport for a few decades now, athlete, coach etc. Running is great but I have seen it reward some very destructive personality traits. OCD, paranoia, social isolation, eating disorders, the works.

There are great health benefits for sure, but often times I’ve seen running been as bad as drinking, addiction. It’s a pass time, not a life style. Enjoy the small things about the sport, the community, joy of training and racing.

I know I’m going to get down voted for this, but you need to structure your writing better with some spaces/paragraphs so it’s more readable.

I couldn’t get through it, but people seemed to like what you wrote.

“And your post just explicates your sorry-ass FAILURE approach to life that you, Zane Robertson and your girlfriend have embraced. You deserve the assembly line life because you're not willing to put the time in. Everytime whatever that little thing that bothers you rears up... you've earned the discord 100% because of the WEAKNESS mentality.”

…and just as I predicted…a hater arrived, armed with his emotional outbursts

Meh, I like running.

Everyone I know that hated running and only did it because they were competitive quit for good when eligibility ran out or before.

“…and have turned my attention back to a sport I had to put to the side in HS due to running.”

What was the sport that you returned to? Care to share?

You were right until the last sentence. The most challenging part for anyone trying to achieve a desirable physique is becoming lean and getting their body fat close to or below 10%. Runners already have they part down. Now all they have they have to do is gain 20ish pounds of muscle, which is actually quite easy if you're not running 100 MPW.

Definitely should seek help for your misplaced anger and projection.
OP seems to have placed running where it belongs in his life.