Living Outside The Lines: “All About That Pace”

I love the freedom running brings me. I don’t waste money paying hefty gym fees only to find their hours of operation don’t fit with my schedule.

By, Becky J Miller

In the past quarter century, the running community has grown tremendously, particularly among women. According to Running USA statistics, in 1990 women accounted for only 25% of the 400,000 recreational runners. By 2015, the number of runners increased to 17,000,000 with women tipping the scale at 57% compared to 43% men. We’ve come a long way, baby!

While numbers don’t lie, they can’t exactly account for things like, “why”? For example, why has road racing evolved into a much more common pursuit for so many Americans?

According to Trip Albagdadi, author of, “I Hate It, Why is Running So Popular?” the top five reasons for the increased popularity of running are 1) Who needs a gym? 2) Anywhere! 3) Forget the weather 4) Calorie Buster and 5) Opportunity.

In a nutshell, running is easy to do; it requires no costly membership fees, and it can be done just about anywhere. Even adverse weather doesn’t always stop one from running. The sport requires no special equipment other than a good pair of shoes, and it is a highly efficient calorie burner. Another plus about running, it can be done solo, in pairs, or even groups.

In my humble opinion, Mr. Albagdadi is right on point! I love the freedom running brings me. I don’t waste money paying hefty gym fees only to find their hours of operation don’t fit with my schedule. I don’t mind running in the cold or rain, I consider it a training opportunity for races that could include unfavorable weather conditions.

Good running shoes cost about $150, but that’s much less than gym fees, and I wear them every. single. day. Runners average a burn of about 100 calories per mile. At a leisurely 10 minute per mile pace, that’s an easy 500 calories burned in less than an hour! And while I love my solo training runs, I also love the camaraderie of the running community.

Road races can be found in a variety of locations and distances. In 2015, the 5K (3.1 miles) held the #1 position of all race distances with 7.6 million finishers! The half marathon (13.1 miles) held the #2 position with 1.9 million finishers, followed by the 10K (6.2 miles) with 1.2 million and finally the full marathon (26.2 miles) with over 500,000 finishers. That’s a lot of miles!!!

Most runners have to look no further than their own backyards to find races for each of the popular distances. San Marcos alone is home to the Sights & Sounds 5K, Master’s School 5K, Got Your Back 5K, Turkey Trot 5K, Purgatory Creek Trail 5K, Pink Heals 5K, Country Roads 10K, Moe’s Better Half, and in 2016 the Run for the America’s Marathon. That list does not even take into account all the races in neighboring New Braunfels and Kyle.

A plethora of races are available for runners desiring to run for great programs such as the Shiner Half Marathon associated with the Boot Campaign, and the Chosen Half Marathon for Adoption supporting families in the process of adopting children. Many races fund local college scholarships, breast cancer research/care, autism awareness, police and fire benevolence coffers and so many others. Often when choosing between races in close proximity, my husband and I look at what foundation is being supported and make our decision based on ideals we believe in.

Some races are just plain fun such as the extremely popular Color Runs, the geared for women Diva Half Marathons, or the superbly challenging obstacle runs like the Spartan. Whatever your poison, no doubt, there’s a race that will fit.

There are also team runs like Beach to Bay, a race I long to do but thus far have been unable to find a group to join. So, if anyone out there has a team in need of another runner, ooo, ooo, pick me, pick me! As a distance runner, I will volunteer for the longest leg of the race, I promise! Shoot, I’ll even run twice, I’m that crazy!

Maybe you aren’t a runner yet, but secretly long to be. What’s stopping you??? Runners come in all shapes, sizes and paces. Trust me, I’ve been beaten by folks 50 pounds heavier and 10 years older. Truly, none of that matters though, what counts is getting out of bed, lacing up your shoes, and hitting the pavement on a regular basis. That my friends, is all it takes to qualify as a runner.

See you on the course!!

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller ~ “Warrior Princess” 

Becky J Miller is a contributor and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.