Let me convert you..

I have been running for most of my life.   Running is like religion, if you are brought up a certain way and you stray, you most likely will return to what you learned and found comfort in as a child.  My mother was an early adopter of distance running.  She would take me on runs down the long dirt roads that I grew up on, and race me to the Appalachian trail marker that was 3/4s of a mile in the distance. We manned the water stations of the local 10k that ran past our house, and watched the NYC and Boston marathons on the television together.  Running was not a sport, but a way of life. We were not jocks, we didn't sport athletic warm up suits at the grocery store and plaster Just Do It! stickers all over our Subaru, we were runners, and it was not until recently that I learned what this meant.
I will be turning 38 years old this October.  Any thoughts of competitive running are buried in my past, most likely, shamefully hiding under the spent camel cigarette packages and the countless bottles of red wine that occupied my 'peak running years'. aka my youth.  I have lived on both sides of Healthy street, and even got myself a little dirty in the gutter along the way. 
Running has enabled me to experience life, and the world around me.  There are moments out on long runs where I feel connected to every living thing on the earth.  I know that the birds are cheering me on with their early morning calls, and that the wind winds its way through the trees for only me.   There are other moments when the sounds of city disappear I am left with the rhythm of my breath and the cadence of my footfall. Running is meditation.  I run to get myself to the place that I can truly craft my prayer within, and allow my scattered thoughts to come together.  Most of my 6 -10 hour  training week I spend alone, with only my breath, linked in to some wordless metaphysical river that winds its way along side of me.  Some days I am brought to a place of laughter, bliss, and total tranquility.  Its a beautiful practice to keep.
 I never experienced an issue with being unable to afford to run.  Running is dirt cheap.  A recreational runner who runs 3 miles a day to stay in shape can do this by making the minimal, annual investment of under $100 for a good pair of running shoes.  I spend about 3 times that amount on my shoes, but I also run 4 times as much.  I spend about $200 a year on race registration, running a race in May, June, August, September and October.  Thats, about it.  So for under $500 a year I can keep myself in pretty good mental and physical health.  Not bad when you consider what it costs to go skiing for a week in the winter.  This does come at the cost of one and only one thing... You have to put one foot in front of your other foot.
 If you are looking for the best form of competition, allow yourself to compete against yourself.  Winning and losing against yourself is the most important barometer you can have on your physical and mental health.
Every year I up the anti on myself and strive to become stronger.  By doing so, I have broken down barriers in my mind that have gotten in the way of achieving other goals in my life.  I love to kick the shit out of myself year after year.
 Why should you run?  I think that if you are 100% at peace with yourself, your body image and spiritual life you most likely are doing something right and really don't need to run.  For most of us, we need something to cleave to, and to rely on to get us from point A to point B in our lives.  Running offers itself up to you with open arms.  Putting one foot in front of the other might seem to be the most boring act imaginable, but with a little work and a hour a day you will be transformed.  I can't stress this enough.