By Renee Jensen

In past articles, I have shared about my (fairly new) love for running. Truth be told, though, I am not sure I actually love running itself as much as the escape that running offers me. I love the pure physical exhaustion that lets my mind be free of everything and present in the moment. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I reach a new milestone, but not necessarily the act of running itself. For these reasons, I often say that I don’t consider myself a “real” runner. (Although, once a friend scolded me for saying that, reminding me: “You run; therefore, you are a real runner.”)