Blog of the Week: Run, Molly, Run!

The Blog of the Week is Run, Molly, Run by Molly Fulton. My interview with Molly appears below:

What inspired you to blog about running?

Running actually inspired me to write again. I had put a lot of myself on hold – that is to say, I had buried a lot of the real me under 100 extra lbs of weight, children, responsibility, life’s disappointments, etc. As I ran, I was writing in my head, and as I gained confidence and a clearer sense of myself again, I thought I could be writing for a slightly bigger audience. It just struck me as so funny and unlikely that I should become a running enthusiast, that I figured I could get some real entertainment mileage out of just telling my experiences. I am almost always writing in my head while running, so blogging is the perfect outlet to try and capture some of those thoughts.

What has running done for you? How is blogging connected to that?

Running has certainly made a big difference in my physical health and appearance, for which I am predictably pleased. But running is such an apt metaphor for managing the race of life. Everything about running speaks to the way I want to run my life: the courage to start, the desire to reach a goal, the discipline to work towards that goal, managing pain and disappointment, soldiering on with perseverance and endurance, knowing when I need to push harder and when I need to rest, how to pace myself to go the distance, and above all, figuring out how to run my own race and not anyone else’s. I explore all of these ideas in my blog in the context of running, but I hope that I and others will see the broader applications. I blog out of gratitude for the peace, joy and satisfaction I am enjoying now.

How did you do in the Women’s Four Miler?

The race was awesome as always. I spent most of this year preparing others to run or walk it for the first time, so I wasn’t sure how I’d do meeting my own goal. I set a time goal that was a challenge, that didn’t give me much room for error. I’m happy to say I made my goal with 30 seconds to spare, and that is the real beauty of running for me. I may never be the fastest, but I can set measurable goals of incremental improvement. If we could just do that in every area of our lives that we want to see change, how powerfully rewarding would that be?

Who is reading your blog, and who SHOULD read it?

My dad is big fan! Actually, my mom told me he was reading it and was inspired to run again. When he finally confessed to me he was following it and actually quoted back passages that he used to get through his own runs – I mean, that was a big wow moment for me. I do have a few other readers – my W4MTP ladies have been reading it. I try to provide some practical training tips and resources for them, but mostly I think they like my “real woman” vs elite runner point of view – and the humor. It was so great to hear women along the race course yell “Run, Molly, run!” and tell me how much they enjoyed my writing. As for who SHOULD read it? I always say, if I can do this, ANYONE can do this. I am not special. I am not genetically gifted nor do I have some powerful story of extraordinary anything. I think anyone who needs a little help finding some faith in themselves to leave fear behind and move purposefully towards what they want may find a little friendly encouragement in my blog. I’ve had so much support and encouragement on my journey. I just want to pay it forward.