the (re)birth of "tiger running"

having recently purchased a new pair of shoes with some cool kanji on them, i thought i would start keeping a blog about my running. the kanji on the shoes (虎走) literally means "tiger running" and so i decided to name the blog the same.

i used to run a lot. when i was 16-19 years old all i did was run. i wanted to be a professional runner. maybe i could have been, but by the time i got to university the fire was burning out. i was burning out. too much training made running no fun anymore. maybe i couldn't be a professional sportsman. aside from lacking the true ability (haha) i like playing sports because they are fun. i love the competition and the comradeship and the games and the training and everything, but most of all i love that it is fun. so i stopped running seriously and did lots of other things that i enjoyed, like playing football and other sports and generally enjoying my youth!

but i always loved running. the freedom. the individuality. the long hard slogs through knee-deep mud on a cold and rainy sunday. the feeling of sun on tired legs at the end of a race. the smell of new shoes. the comfortable feeling of old shoes. over the past ten years or so i have occasionally started running again, but never with any particular aim.

despite living in japan since 2004, it wasn't until i got married that i realised that the japanese attitude towards long-distance running is a perfect match for me. firstly, my wife is as into sports as i am. secondly, people here in japan not only understand the desire, strength and sacrifice required to run long-distance, but they actively embrace it. just read about marathons and ekidens and you will see how closely the japanese spirit is entwined with that of the long-distance runner. the fact that a normal person in japan knows how far a marathon is and how fast is a good time, the fact that a regular city race will close down main roads and bring out thousands of cheering spectators, the fact that people love and respect running... all these things rekindled my fire. i could feel that burning desire to run again.

so i did. but now i don't run to win medals or be the best in the world. i just run because i want to. i run because i love the feeling of running. i do love running fast, but it is about more than times and positions now. it is about running for the enjoyment of running. i will still try to set personal bests, but i will cherish the feeling of finishing a run as much as the feeling of beating a time.

on this blog i will talk about shoes, races, training... but mainly about the feeling of running again. i hope that it will inspire some more people to start running, be it for the first time or starting again after an absence.

i am a tiger, a tiger running.