Beggars would ride… or so the saying goes. No, this workout isn’t about working hard to make your dreams come true. Those are words for another time and day. 😀 On my run, I noticed this horse was eyeing me as he playfully trotted across his field and nibbled on some grass. Since he noticed me, I thought I’d stop and introduce myself. Normally when I run, I’m focused and in “the zone,” but today I felt drawn to this horse. Miraculously he didn’t mind my smell and came right over to see if I had any treats and lick some salt off my skin. As I said hi, I reflected on what amazing creatures horses truly are.

Horses are phenomenal animals. They are instinctive, loyal, strong, creatures of habit, and fairly social. The more I thought about it, the more I found myself wanting to be a horse. Not just for their amazing speed, but because of their grace and innate characteristics.

It struck me that runners are a lot like horses. We might be different breeds, sizes, and speeds, but runners like horses, are part of a literal “team” that look out for each other. Like horses, runners are quick to help and work together to reach a common goal.

When I ran the Phoenix Mesa marathon in February, around mile 23, I saw a man completely flat on his back being attended to by EMT’s. I saw many runners in front of me saying encouraging words to this guy who’s race was clearly over. Total strangers just passing along positive encouragement to someone they’d never see again.

Running isn’t about being the fastest in any given event, like a race horse. Sure there’s amazing runners that fly; but running is more about the kind of person you become because you are a runner- instinctive, loyal, strong, creatures of habit, and social. Who knew a random horse could teach me so much?