Most people run their first mile in elementary school gym class. Well, I went to a charter school where we didn’t have gym and I never ran a mile in my life until May of 2021. At 27 years old, I had never run a mile. Ever. I grew up dancing and doing cheer so I was familiar with cardio but never thought running would be my thing. That was, until I met the folks at Hourglass Brewing‘s run club. 

I started going to the run club at Hourglass in October of 2019. I even made a joke on Instagram that my run club shirt wasn’t a Halloween costume, it was a real thing. I’m not going to lie, for 2 years I walked. I couldn’t run a mile to save my life, I complained, I made excuses, and I just didn’t want to do it. That was, until one day in May of 2021, the people I walked with couldn’t make it out and I was stuck with the “real runners.” I had two options, sit at the brewery and drink till everyone returned or try to run. While I wanted to go with my first option, a few of my friends pushed me and said just try. Well, that was the day I started running. 

It has been less than a year, but I have tried to keep up with running. It is 100% something you lose if you don’t do it consistently. I started off slow, in June I pushed myself to run a mile a day. Every day it got a little easier and I felt better and better. While run club is a 5k on Monday’s and Wednesday’s, I had never run a real race. I signed up for the Lake Nona 5k and had an absolute BLAST. While I was not the fastest, i’m pretty sure I won the award for posing for each camera I ran by. Since then, I have done numerous other 5ks and even did a Rugged Maniac obstacle course race. It has become something that I enjoy doing with my friends. Running builds a sense of community that I never thought it could. Of course, maybe that’s because all of my runs end with drinking a beer, but still, the running counts!

If you want to start running, make sure you have a good support system, have a bomb playlist and enjoy yourself. If you have a positive mind set you will run farther, faster and enjoy the sport. Make sure to check out your local breweries, and don’t be intimidated, not everyone is a serious marathon runner, there are a lot of places where people run just for fun and a good exercise.