The Happy Runner: Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer

Contemplation of our own lonely mortality enabled us to love deeply. Experiencing our own running “deaths” through injury enabled us to cherish all of the experiences along the way. Maybe a training philosophy built on the inevitability of adversity could help others be puppies without the treacherous middle steps of loneliness or injuries.

Who is in your running community?

task-oriented enthusiasm makes everyone better.

Taking yourself super seriously rarely works because eventually the universe will show you that it disagrees wholeheartedly.

Happiness is not always a choice. But over time, with practice, being kinder to yourself can be. Unconditional self-acceptance is the most important step to being fulfilled independent of the twists and turns of life. And it’s also an essential step toward reaching your potential as a runner.

There’s a reason we started the book talking about death. It’s something we all share as a human community, and it’s something to think about deeply to gain a zoomed-out, spiritual perspective on the world.

The goal of a happy runner is developing a perspective that allows you to find the magic in the mundane.

You can take your running seriously without taking yourself seriously. That point is an essential place to start. Taking yourself super seriously rarely works because eventually the universe will show you that it disagrees wholeheartedly. That doesn’t mean you can’t view what you do seriously, though. Passion for the long-term process requires deep

Focusing too much on specificity for an event can sacrifice long-term development and possibly make the race less fast as well.