The hardest part of running?

Running on treadmills can be hard!
Running on treadmills can be hard!

What do you think is the hardest part of running? For beginning runners, I often hear that people struggle to just keep going. Usually that means they’ve started too fast. When I talk to more experienced runners, the hardest part of running might be dealing with overuse injuries that inevitable pop up at the worst times, like right before your big race. For moms like me, the hardest part of running could be finding the time to fit in a good long run! Especially during the winter when it gets dark early and the roads are icy, fitting my run into my daily schedule is tough.

Those are all hard parts of running. But we get by them and keep putting one foot in front of the other. And we keep signing up for races and setting new goals.

In one month, I’ll be running – hopefully racing – one of my most favorite races of all time, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. I can’t wait! I love this race!! And I am so excited because this year, my training is going very smooth and I’ve managed to keep my schedule balanced. And (knock on wood) I’m injury free.

But now we come to the hardest part of running… what do you think it is?

The hardest part of running: asking people for donations to support our chosen charities.

Running for ourselves is good. But running for others is great. Pushing yourself to go a little harder, a little faster, a little longer can happen when you think about the struggles other people face.

I like to push myself. So I set a higher fundraising goal than last year. It’s an ambitious goal, but I believe I can do it. And just like I rely on my friends to help me run, I need your help to help me reach this goal.

I’m not going to ask you to run 10 miles with me. I’m not even going to ask you to do 10 push-ups. But I am going to ask you to donate $10.

Donate to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Make a donation for all the times running was hard but you did it anyway. Make a donation for a child you love. Make a donation for all of the families that are facing much harder things and don’t have the option to slow down, pull over and take a rest. Because no matter how hard running is, the things they are facing are harder.

Elizabeth, @epagelhogan

epagelhogan blogElizabeth is a writing mom on the run and was one of two  Social Runners from 2012-2013. Originally from Maryland, Elizabeth now runs up and down the hills of Pittsburgh, PA, where things (like rivers) come in threes. She loves triathlons, has published three books and has three sons! She runs her own writing business and finds that a good long run is often the source of her creative ideas. Elizabeth loves being married to a great runner who was a finisher at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

About Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan

Elizabeth is a writing mom on the run and was one of two Social Runners from 2012-2013. Originally from Maryland, Elizabeth now runs up and down the hills of Pittsburgh, PA, where things (like rivers) come in threes. She loves triathlons, has published three books and has three sons! She runs her own writing business and finds that a good long run is often the source of her creative ideas. Elizabeth loves being married to a great runner who was a finisher at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

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