It's no secret that sports consume my life. For as long as I can remember, they've been the one thing I've been able to take pride in. However, for someone that loves sports so much, I was never particularly good enough to compete in athletic team sports. Sure, baseball was something I played for the majority of my young life, and over the course of the decade I spent playing it, I got to be pretty good.

But team sports where athletic ability and other talents are desperately needed is not where I make my living. Ever since my junior year of high school, I've made running a part of my life. Running does not require the inherent athleticism that sports like football or basketball require. Instead, running can be done by anyone who can walk, and that's the beauty of the sport.

For most people, the thought of running is sickening. In most sports, running sprints or running a mile is considered a punishment. But I like to think that those of us that are crazy enough to make running our sport are a different breed of athlete. Anyone can be a runner because all it takes is putting one foot in front of the other as fast as you can and for as long as you can. It's so simple that some people don't consider it to be a sport, and those people are perfectly entitled to their wrong opinion.

Being a runner automatically makes you a part of a family of sorts. Runners are among some of the friendliest people I've ever met in my life. People love to joke about how much they hate running, and yet they continue to do it anyways. Whether it be at a race or just out on the trail for a casual run, runners always wave to each other and say hello. If I go out on a run and another runner doesn't wave to me as we pass by each other, it's a strange day.

Competing in road races, such as a 5K, or a half marathon, is the measurement of how good a runner is most of the time. Some runners love to compete against other elite runners, but unless you're a professional runner, the competition is limited to one person: yourself. Each run around the block and each race is a chance to improve upon your last, and to show yourself that you can get stronger and faster. There isn't a better feeling in the sport of running than beating your personal record, and that is the main goal of each and every race.

While beating past personal bests is great, my love for running lies in the relief it provides. Every runner I've ever talked to has agreed that running provides an outlet for stress and other emotions unlike any other. Feeling angry? Go run a couple miles as fast as possible. Feeling sad? Go for a long run. Feeling stressed? Go run to a local trail and just enjoy the feeling of being outside. There is no problem that a run can't cure, and coming from personal experience, running has helped me through a lot of tough times.

Being able to take pride in getting stronger every day and setting goals for myself has given me a world of confidence that I wouldn't have found anywhere else. When it felt like I had nothing else to look forward to, lacing up a pair of Adidas Boost and hitting the road with no real sense of where I'm going provided me with the happiness I had been looking for. Running is more than just a hobby or a sport or a way to stay in shape; it's a lifestyle and it's a way to find direction in life.

I laugh at those that scoff at the sport of running. If you think it's easy, I dare you to go run five miles and tell me it's not difficult. Running may be a straight-forward form of exercise that anyone can do, but it's also one that takes an incredible amount of endurance, mental focus, and determination to be good at. It's a battle against yourself, and there is no greater feeling than being able to conquer your own challenges for yourself.

" If you want to change your body, exercise. If you want to change your life, become a runner."