Turning 18 is supposed to be a big deal, right? This milestone is supposed to mark the end of your childhood and the beginning of legal adulthood. When most people think of birthdays, they often think of a pleasant day filled with cake, candles, and family time. Instead, I spent my birthday doing something more authentic to me: I ran 18 miles.
First off I have to say that 18 miles is not the farthest I’ve run before, but is definitely the longest this year. The idea first came to me when I was watching YouTube and came across a video with a simple premise: running the same number of miles for the age you are turning. For a majority of my life, I have always felt like birthdays were unfulfilling, not because I didn’t have fun, but because I didn’t feel productive at all. Thus, I picked up a challenge that I felt would push me to accomplish something more meaningful than just receiving gifts and eating a bunch of food. As a cross-country and track athlete, running has been a part of my everyday life for a while, so what better way to challenge myself than pushing myself in what I love to do?
As it was a hot day, I headed to the garage to run on my treadmill. There, I stared at the treadmill for a good while, wondering whether attempting to run the distance would be worth it. As I sat there, I was thinking about how long 18 miles really was; I could have instead run around 72 and ½ laps around a track, or even run the length of a football field close to 317 times. Eventually, I plugged in my treadmill and set the speed to seven miles per hour.
The first nine or so miles were relatively painless, and I spent the time watching one of my favorite movies. However, as I grew closer to the 13-mile mark, I could feel the pain start to set in throughout my calves and quads. In cross country and track practices, I had grown accustomed to running 10 to 12 miles as a part of my long run during the week, but as I surpassed that distance, I could feel my joints start to tighten as I approached closer and closer to the end of my challenge.
I felt by far some of the worst pain I had experienced in my life running the last four miles of this challenge. During this time, I paused my show and started to just let my mind wander. There were many instances of telling myself to quit, but also a lot of moments where I was reflecting on my life so far; this was my 18th birthday, after all. I came to appreciate the things I would usually just take for granted, like my family and friends.
At this point, my legs were basically crying to stop, but my mind was focused on the much more positive aspects of my life. When I eventually saw the treadmill show 18 miles completed and I unplugged it, a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment grew in me–one that I had never felt on my birthday.
I’m not saying that running this much is easy. I was barely able to walk after I finished or during the following day, and I am still in pain as I write this. However, I can confidently say that finishing this challenge was worth it. So, here’s to 18 miles for 18 years, and to the countless miles I have already run and the countless I have ahead.