Is Running Selfish?

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

I’m a few months shy of turning 30, and many (most) of the people I grew up with have embraced the sensibility and stability of marriage, parenthood, and the 9–5 (plus a side hustle) grind. Their common complaint is not that their husbands are annoying or snore too much or leave beard trimmings in the sink. It’s not that their kids are belligerent or that their bosses are intolerable. No, their most common complaint is that they don’t have enough time to do everything they want to do. And when they have a million things to do and other people do attend to, something has to give. Often, the first thing to go is the morning workout or the after-work run.

“It must be nice to have so much free time,” they sigh, and I’m not even mad about it. They don’t know what occupies my time, and frankly, it’s none of their business. One friend told me she gave up running because it would be selfish to take that much time away from her family. One friend expressed jealousy over my weekends in the mountains. Another asked me whether or not I feel guilty that I spend so much time running. My answer was no, not really.

Of course, it is selfish to train, especially like I do. I plan my weekends around my long runs. I wake up early to make sure I get my workout in, and in doing so, often wake up my partner. I don’t go to Saturday…