Heart and Sole: A Runner’s Story

By Claire McCutcheon

I always considered myself to be unlucky. Unlucky that I couldn’t eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound like all of my friends. Unlucky that I couldn’t run an eight-minute mile without even putting forth effort. Unlucky that I couldn’t share clothing with my friends because we weren’t the same size. It seems as though in July of 2011 I finally hit a stroke of luck in realizing that I was not, in fact, unlucky—I was delusional.

That summer we were spending two weeks at the beach, which is a natural motivator for anyone with a less-than-positive body image. I have always been one of those girls who compares herself to everyone else, and the trip to the beach was no exception. “I bet I have a better personality” or “I bet I’m smarter” were both phrases with which I appeased myself, but thankfully, that stopped working. My initial motivator was my school’s soccer tryouts that coming August. Knowing I had to run two miles in under 18 minutes was scary enough for me to start moving my feet. Every day I would run one mile down the beach, take a little breather and then run back. I had never felt so good! Even after our time at the beach was done, I continued running and was slowly but surely changing my eating habits.

Come August I had eaten a whole lot of mango and cantaloupe and lost 15 pounds, and I had no intentions of stopping there. By this point I had given up on my soccer star dreams, wanting to focus all of my energy on weight loss and running. I had an incredible amount of drive behind me, and by October of 2011 I had lost 30 pounds. Also in October, I ran my first 5,000 meter run (5k). I was deathly afraid that I wouldn’t be able to finish the race and would suffer the debilitating humiliation of walking. I know now, however, there is no shame in walking. On a very snowy Saturday morning in October, I completed my first 5k in 32 minutes—without walking. That’s when I caught the bug.

The running bug is an infection. It creeps inside your head and knocks against your skull six days a week, ruthlessly reminding you of the miles you’re due to complete that day. The bug changes the way you look at running. It goes from being an “I did it!” scenario to an “I didn’t do it” scenario. Running becomes part of your day, just like brushing your teeth. To be honest, the bug is probably the best thing to ever happen to me.

I hit the ground running in 2012. I knew exactly what I wanted and I was going to stop at nothing to get it. My distance and time were steadily improving, and I had more drive than ever. I knew at this point that running had become my passion, and I concocted my first lofty goal: to run a half-marathon by the time I got my license so I could slap one of those shiny “13.1” stickers right on the back of my first car with pride. With that in mind, I kept on running!

In May of 2012 I had lost 47 pounds and decided to go to the meeting for my school’s cross-country team. I figured it couldn’t hurt and it would look good on a college application. Little did I know cross-country would end up being one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. My team consisted of some of the most wonderful girls I have ever had the pleasure of being friends with. I completed my first cross-country season without too many tears, only a bit of blood and a personal 5k record of 26:16. I learned so much about running while on the team and was lucky enough to run alongside—no, way behind—the reigning state champion, as well as some of the most talented runners in Maryland.

Out of the gracious support of my family, I was granted the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas, NV, to run my first half-marathon. As the cross-country season came to a close, I had two weeks to kick my butt into half-marathon material. It was one of the most difficult, excruciating, time-consuming and rewarding things I have ever done. With 50,000 of my closest friends, I completed the Las Vegas Rock and Roll half-marathon on December 2, 2012, with a time of two hours, 20 minutes and 34 seconds just three days shy of my 16th birthday.

Every ending is the start of a new beginning. I may have reached my goal, but that in no way means I am done. Running has truly changed the way I look at life and the way I take care of myself. Next up: a full marathon by graduation.

About the Author

Claire McCutcheon is a West Virginia native currently attending high school in suburban Maryland and loves nothing more than to run on the Greenbrier River Trail. McCutcheon dreams of studying journalism at Columbia University and plans to never stop running.