How I started running

Later this week I will be running in the 2007 Fargo 1/2 Marathon. It is actually the 2nd longest race I have ever entered. I ran a marathon a few years ago down in Sioux City, Iowa. It was a tremendous undertaking that I will only enter into again cautiously.
You see I am not a natural distance runner. I am not a lanky stick boy waif. I do not have the ideal body type of the distance runner nor other athletic endeavor. I gave up on serious athletic pursuits in 9th grade when I decided to take the lead in the spring play and turn in my track suit.
After the freshmen 15 scare in college, I attempted to run a little but did not pursue it whole-heartedly. Then came 2001.
No, terrorism did not scare me into running. It was actually a woman I met in the summer of 2001. For some reason she convinced me to enter a 4 mile race with her and her friends. Aiming to impress I gave it a shot. Unfortunatley I was bad. Very bad. From that day forward I pledged to myself to never again be unprepared to run. From that point I began my training.
It hurt at first. I had shin splints for a month. I continued to increase my mileage. Being unemployed at the time, running was theraputic. I ran mostly a night- usually between 11PM and 1AM. Later in fall I entered a 15k race. I did ok. It gave me a taste of the long distances and made me realize that running is more than physical, its mental too. It was also about that time I began to radically change my wardrobe- adding lots of running specific wicking shirts, wind breakers, and socks. [For some reason I was under the impression that this clothing would prevent me from sweating. I was deluded]
I have been running ever since with a few breaks in between. Theses days I'm not running for races, but mostly to look good, stay fit, and to pray. It takes a lot of determination and discipline for me to keep it up. But I find that it is worth it even if I didn't get the girl.