Running to an end

When I started running it was because of soccer. I ran for fun in the fall while playing soccer and then played baseball in the spring. When I began I never would have thought the impact it would have on me. I have made nearly all my friends through running; I have made life decisions based on training and my future in the sport. I knew I would never be a professional but I always enjoyed running. 

The reason I am writing this in past tense is that I have been plagued by injury in my running career, having my first surgery when I was only thirteen. I have become very close to my orthopedic surgeon because of my extensive injury list. Currently, I am a freshman in college and running for a small private school. I have greatly enjoyed my time running here and meeting all the people. The disheartening part of the story is how I have sense sustained my third major ankle injury. Well, what I thought was an ankle injury. I have a partial Achilles tear accompanied by sprains in two major sets of tendons. I am currently in therapy trying to avoid surgery. Over the years I have caused extensive damage to my nerves and tendons in my ankle. Which forces me to make one of the toughest decisions an athlete has to make: retiring. 

It is odd to hear an eighteen-year-old kid talk about retiring, but it is true. We always hear commentators and fans talk about professionals retiring from their sport, justifying it because it is “their time.” How do we know when it is our time? How do we know when we are doing too much harm to our body? These are questions I ask myself every night. 

Besides the obvious role running has played in my life I have made my career decision based on my experiences. I have decided I would like to try to become a surgeon, and I am in an early acceptance to medical school program. However, I have also seen the dark side of what running can do to you. For months I was not eating, trying to lose weight so I could become faster. I ate seven crackers, one piece of meat, and one piece of cheese daily. I told my parents I ate at work so they would not force me to eat. The only days I would eat a normal amount of food was on Friday so I would have enough energy to make it through a race. What I did worked wonders, I was medaling everywhere I went and set multiple PR’s a day. With that, I also had no energy and almost passed out at practice daily. I would never encourage anyone to try to lose weight by eating less because I saw firsthand the deleterious effects it would have on your body. My love for the sport had grown too deep.

That was only last spring. Today, I am in a boot and on crutches facing my third Achilles injury and being encouraged to never run again. At such a young age it is hard to think that I have another sixty to eighty years of life (hopefully) and that I will not be able to run for any of them. As I ponder my own running fate I hope that you can find the strength to know when you are doing too much damage to your body and know when to lace up the spikes one last time.

- Anonymous