Introduction to Running in Circles

It’s February of 2015. On a cold Saturday night, I was relaxing on a couch in the company of three friends that I consider family to me. Paul DeKruif, whom I met during my freshman year while at Loyola University, and I hopped in our car to visit Keith Jones, the owner of said couch on which I was relaxing upon, and Soren Lagaard, who was visiting during the weekend. I had met Keith and Soren during high school, so the opportunity for all of us to hang out together was rare and special.

Never a dull moment on a night when we get to spend time together, we were discussing how each of us felt we could do nearly whatever we wanted (as long as we dedicated the time and practice.) We all collectively felt that if we could focus our energy towards something, we could achieve almost anything. That’s when the topic of the marathon came up, which is funny given that none of us were runners and doing such a torturous thing was not even close within our collective radars.

While in the heat of this conversation, the Chicago Marathon was mentioned and we jumped on Keith‘s computer to see if it was possible to sign up. Lucky (or unlucky) for us, sign ups were open to apply for the race in October later that year. The price point of $215 was hard to swallow, but we all collectively arrived at the moment to put our money where our mouth was. Keith, Soren, and I agreed to sign up. Paul didn't and missed out (or dodged a bullet, depending on how you look at it.)

This begged the question: could we really take on running 26.2 miles? I had not run consistently since my high school years, and even when I did, I only did short distances in track and field. I had no idea what it meant to run long distances. I thought the 400 meter was long enough.

A couple days later, I officially signed up to run my first marathon. If you are not familiar, what makes the Chicago race interesting is that just because you sign up it does not guarantee your entry. You have to put your name into a lottery that is chosen by random, and you have to wait for an email saying that your application was accepted. Four weeks later, when I received the confirmation email that I was in the 2015 Chicago marathon, that is officially when I became scared.

It was five months until the race. I had to find a way to not only lose weight and get in shape, but train my body to be able to handle the long haul of miles. At this point in my life, I was personally at the heaviest I had ever been. I also had lower back problems and some initial concerns about my BMI/cholesterol. Scared about what might happen to me in the fear of injury, deep down I knew I had to do something to better my health. Michelle and I have been talking about kids, and I wanted to make sure that I would be healthy enough to play with my soon to be family for a long time. In that moment, I decided to suck it up and pay a visit to a store that I knew would have the gear and shoes I needed.

Nike.

It was the middle of March when I walked into their store on Michigan Avenue, and went up the escalator to the running clothes section. I had no idea what I was actually looking for, but knew I needed shoes, shorts, and maybe a shirt. One of the store members came up to me and asked me what I was looking for, and I told him I literally had no idea and was trying to find some running clothes to train in for the Chicago Marathon. He proceeded to tell me about a group of people that get together every Tuesday and Saturday to run and our training for the Chicago Marathon.

I officially joined the Nike Run Club. 5 months, 400+ miles later, I showed up to the starting line and ran my first marathon in 4 hours and 32 minutes. The feeling of crossing the finish line was unlike anything I had ever felt.

Since that day on October 11, 2015, running has changed my life. The improvements to my health were unprecedented, with my cholesterol and back issues finally fading away from being an every day part of my life. I was able to sleep better, and bring more focus into my life that helped me succeed in my professional career and my marriage. I was able to feel what it felt like to compete again, experiencing a feeling that I had not felt in over 10 years.

Most importantly, I found an expensive community that I didn’t know existed. I always thought that runners typically operated on their own, thinking to myself that it did not involve any teamwork. Little did I know, that teamwork is at the core of training for a marathon and play just as important of a role as the legs.

Today, after 13 marathons, countless long runs, hours of grinding, and 7 years of being a part of a community that continues to give to me, I have decided to finally give something back.

I created Running in Circles built off of inspiration I’ve had over the past six months to share my running knowledge, not necessarily as a coach, but mostly as a human being. I believe that nothing about me or what I have makes me more special than anyone else, so running in circles is not meant to be primarily used as a way of me teaching others. In reality, I am passionate about overall wellness and mental health as it relates to runners, and feel called to discuss what I am passionate about.

So I created this blog to speak to the well-being of the runner, where we can give ourselves an upper hand in tackling the obstacles that stand in the way of our success. While I am not a trained expert in the topic of mental health, I hope that I can apply the experiences I've gone through to help provide some beneficial words to collectively help us grow closer and become stronger. Some of the topics I intend to speak about could be, but are not limited to:

Running tips

Wellness hacks

Race strategies

Becoming stronger (mentally and physically)

Interviews (yes, I said it)

Heck, I might even throw in a shoe/gear review here and there. The point is I want to give back to the community that gave me so much life. And along the way, I hope that we can grow together in our own individual journeys. Also, if you're interested in me speaking more on any topic, all you have to do is reach out. Simple enough.

With that being said, how about we let this thing fly?

- Alex Locke