12 People on Running As Therapy

Look around these early summer mornings and everyone is running.  They are running with run-buddies; running to Daft Punk or the Strokes or — admit it — Taylor Swift; running their favorite athleisure off.  Ask any of these runners why they do it and chances are they’ll unflinchingly say, “Because running is my therapy.” Here are 12 runners on how running helps them clear their mind and process their thoughts about anger, skinniness, love, food, and sexu

I lost my dad on September 11 in the towers. I was so miserable and angry inside. I had to find an outlet. I knew that “outlet” was either going to be harmful to me or something positive. So I said, “I’m going to run a marathon on his behalf.” Fifteen years later, I’ve never stopped running. I run to dump out the trash inside my head; to reignite my soul, to weed out the anger. I talk to myself sometimes. I go deep into a zone. I could run past my own mother and not recognize her. I’m completely in another state. Winter, rain, sleet, snow, sun — I run. Always outside. No music.  I’ve been to “real” therapy, too, and for me, nothing beats running. It is truly the best therapy. I connect to my father and talk through things as if he were there. I don’t have my dad to talk to in real life, but he’s there with me when I run.

I listen to the soundtrack of my life.

I run because on most days I need to run away. I need to run away from my messy apartment, from my kids whom I love very much but still … from the fact that I lost my ambition after becoming a mom, from the fact that I often hate my husband, that I always want red-velvet cupcakes; I run from my bills, from the summer house I’ll never own and from the good hair I’ll never have. I run away from it all. I listen to songs that would comprise the soundtrack of my life. I watch my own personal movie play in full, in my head. I repeat certain songs again and again and again … and then I’m home. And I’m okay. And I don’t have any urge to run away again. Until tomorrow …

I ran when my marriage began to fall apart.

I’ve run almost 7,000 miles in the past five years and have considered it my therapy. I began running when my marriage began to fall apart. Sadly, it hasn’t gotten better and I may be dealing with a divorce soon. It sucks. So I run. Lately all it does is wear me out so that I can sleep at night. But hey, we do what we need to get byality.