Running is easy to do alone.

With running, I depend on myself. I don't need to turn to anyone else. I don't have to schedule a meeting, or slow down when someone else is tired, or catch up when I'm tired. Of course, I don't mind running with company, I've tried it a few times, but I prefer to run alone: Just me and the street, my feet and the concrete.

Running is a cheap and easy.

All I needed to buy was a decent set of running shoes. My choice is a flashy pair Fila track shoes, bought online for about thirty dollars. I have about three pairs of shorts (two of which are actually swim trunks) which I alternate between wearing and washing. That's the extent of the equipment required to run.

Of course, I've seen people run without shoes, but at the very least everyone needs to keep their shorts on. I don't even worry about where I'm running. I just cruise around my local streets or maybe run around the park a few times. In the very same day I decided to run, I was already running.

Running is a cure for bad habits. I was a social smoker and I did drink occasionally, but now that I've started running in earnest, I've given up both of those habits. I don't miss smoking because air feels better in my lungs than smoke. Drinking, despite the name of the activity, actually dehydrates people and hydration is important for running, so it was also easy to give up once I became a serious runner. I no longer stay up too late at night and sleep into the day. Running has put me on a routine that has balanced my life.

Running is a cure for bad habits. I was a social smoker and I did drink occasionally, but now that I've started running in earnest, I've given up both of those habits. I don't miss smoking because air feels better in my lungs than smoke. Drinking, despite the name of the activity, actually dehydrates people and hydration is important for running, so it was also easy to give up once I became a serious runner. I no longer stay up too late at night and sleep into the day. Running has put me on a routine that has balanced my life.

Running is a teacher and I am a student.

I've learned more about myself by running than anything else I've done. I've learned that I am more than I thought I was: I have the power to push on even though all I want to do is quit. I've learned that the greatest honesty is honesty with myself: I can't lie to myself about how far I've run or how fast, because I was there and I saw it with my own eyes.

I've learned that the most important opponent in life is myself: I do not have any enemies when I run, I only have myself to blame if I fail. Every step teaches me who I truly am.

After I finish explaining my reasons to these inquisitive people, I say: "Everyone who runs understands that running is about the runner. That's why I run, because running is about me. Why don't you run?"