A Letter to Fall Running...

Dear fall running, 

You are different without a finish line, there's no doubt about that. I miss the oxygen rushing to my lungs, my legs powering through fatigue as I race towards my end goal. 

Met with crowds and cheers, I've crossed the finish line more than a time or two. Never alone, but with thousands of strangers on the same mission. We do not know each other, but in that moment we have the same story. 

Fall running, what I love most about you is the crisp and colorful leaves beneath my feet as I pace my latest run. Some long, some short, all of them part of something bigger. 

But what I'm missing this year is exactly that. Something 'bigger". There is no finish line, there is no crowd of strangers I get to call friends for a few hours during a race. There is no shiny metal and crunched up bib to hang on my wall once each race is complete. But my legs are still moving, my heart is still pumping, and I'm trying my best to push myself to something more than just a finish line. 

I miss what you once were, fall running. I am slowly learning to fall in love with what you are today. 

With love, health & happiness, 

Ciara