Pictured Above: Mass communications graduate student Michael Alden and his father ran the Skyway Bridge Run two days after the United States’ first COVID-19 case.
Courtesy of Michael Alden
As I went through my daily pre-run ritual, the TV gave me the United States’ latest, but not last, grim milestone of COVID-19: 450,000 dead.
After lacing up my shoes, applying sunscreen and stretching a bit, I thought to myself, “Have I been running against the pandemic, or am I running from it?”
Then, I hit Gulf Boulevard for an easy afternoon jog.
The first reported death from COVID-19 in the U.S. occurred almost a year ago, on February 29, 2020. Two days later, I ran the annual Skyway Bridge Run with my dad. We were bussed out to the bridge with hundreds of people, all blissfully unaware of how the next year would unfold.
A few weeks later, the U.S. led the world in confirmed cases.
Since then, I left a job, started another bachelor’s degree and switched to a master’s degree, all the while not seeing my family for nine months — our longest hiatus since I was born.
In spite of my past tendency to neglect exercise when undergoing major life changes, I managed to keep running.
I’m not looking for praise or a pat on the back. My circumstances are trivial compared to a lot of folks. I’ve been lucky enough to not lose any loved ones, suffer major financial loss or test positive for COVID-19.
Like many of us, though, I’ve suffered from bouts of anxiety and depression that come with the isolation caused by a once-in-a-century global pandemic.
I have gone on runs to escape sadness and stress, and I have gone on runs out of pure anger and rage against the things I can’t control. And I can honestly say running has helped me cope with the pandemic better than anything else.
Maintaining my running routine is one aspect of my life I’ve been able to control in a time many of us realized we have far less control than we thought we had; from frivolous things like deciding where to go grab drinks with friends, to grand existential questions of our individual impact on the world and our own mortality, the pandemic dictates many of these decisions for us.
How often have you questioned your mortality over the last year?
I think about it almost every time I run.
I think about how many people have run this exact route in the last century as I jog along the water’s edge in Pass-a-Grille, a beach community established over a century ago.
I think about how many runners had their eyes on this same horizon and felt the same burning Florida sun on their skin, with the same aching muscles working beneath the surface.
I think about the runner in another hundred years on this same route and wonder what hardships they will endure. Then I remember this will all likely be underwater thanks to our inaction on climate change.
Then I think about my family and friends and how fortunate I am, that, at this present moment, every one of them is alive and well, going about their day. And I remember this is a feeling many people across the world lost in the last year.
Sometimes I think about nothing at all during a run. It’s easy to see the similarities between meditation and running: control your breathing, pay attention to your body and be present. The beauty of running and meditation is they both allow you to tap into your mind and have better control over your thoughts.
Running is something you can control, regardless of how fit you are. You can control when and where you run, how you run and how far you want to go.
If you have been living on your own during the pandemic, use running as an excuse to break out of your bubble and get that much-needed sunlight. If you have been cooped up with family, friends or a significant other and need time to yourself, go for a run.
Alter your perspective: instead of seeing running as intimidating and strenuous, look at it as an opportunity to escape. Running is a form of escapism unmatched by even the most addictive page-turners or binge-worthy shows.
I heard once that anyone should be able to light up a cigar and enjoy it, so long as they know how to do it properly. While I admit smoking may not be the best example when discussing exercise amid a pandemic, the same holds true for running.
As someone who absolutely loathed running ever since the dreaded pacer test in middle school, surrounded by hormonal, sweaty teens in a humid gym; I firmly believe that anyone who is physically able to run can and will enjoy it if they do it properly.
When I started running regularly, the key for me was to not overexert myself. In fact, I ran at such an easy pace that it bordered on downright laziness. Change your perspective. You don’t have to burn yourself out to the point of complete exhaustion. The fact that you are running at all means you’re doing more than most people. When I finally understood this, I started to truly enjoy running.
As for anxiety and depression, studies continue to show that running has a positive effect on these mental health conditions. Psychiatrists have prescribed exercise as an adjunct mental health treatment for decades, with increased focus in recent years on widespread implementation.
Results of a recent health survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that: “During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, a share that has been largely consistent, up from one in ten adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019.”
We all have suffered different hardships over the course of the pandemic, whether it be the loss of a loved one, being let go from a job, returning to school, feeling lonely or coming to terms with your mortality.
Running is the most basic and cathartic form of exercise you are able to do that can have a positive effect on physical and mental health.
So I encourage you to go for a run.
Think about everything. Think about nothing. Allow yourself that freedom.
And I want you to ask yourself: “Am I running against the pandemic, or running from it?”
For me, it just depends on the day.
