When we walk, we walk with others. But when we run, we run with ourselves.

Recently, I completed my first half marathon. While chatting with a friend, I mentioned that I got three blisters after finishing the race—along with shin pain and sore calf muscles. Without hesitation, she asked, "Why run so much?"

I didn’t have a clear-cut answer. Is it for fitness? You don’t really need to run a half marathon—or a full marathon—for fitness alone. Is it for signaling? If you do something solely for others, the chances are, when pushed to the extreme, you’ll eventually give up.

Perhaps, it’s a quest to understand my body. Or perhaps it’s a way to test my body’s limitations. Maybe it’s about doing something many people can’t—or won’t.

When you attempt something extreme, you come face-to-face with those limits. When your body wants to give up but your mind urges you to move forward, you witness something extraordinary. You begin to feel willpower transform from an abstract idea into a tangible force. e

When the mind is no longer restricted by the body and is driven by a purpose, miracles happen. And maybe, just maybe—that’s why I run.