The answer is that I am not sure. For a long time I thought it was a choice. For most of high school, I was actually a sprinter. I have always had natural speed in the short distances. I was the fastest player on my soccer teams from as long ago as I can remember. When I joined the track team in eight grade, I naturally gravitated towards the sprinting team and, dislocated hip notwithstanding, I did fairly well.
I continued sprinting for the next three years, and by 10th and 11th grade I was regularly performing quite well, particularly in the long jump and some of the longer sprints. It was not until my senior year of high school that I opted into longer distances. I was unsuccessful at first, for a variety of reasons including the orthotics problems I mentioned in a prior post.
Looking back now, however, I wonder if it was fate, in the form of genetics, that led me ultimately to longer and longer distances.
The first time I recall competing in any sort of running events was when I was in England for my Kindergarten year. I only have vague recollections, but there are pictures of me performing rather well in my school's athletics day. I am not certain this is true, but I get the distinct impression that I probably did well during the latter half of those races, which was a pattern that would repeat itself throughout my life.
Over the next several years, I did not race very often, but I was always on a soccer team. I did not necessarily like running, but I was always quick. When I next competed in an honest race I believe I was in fourth grade. Every year one of the local high school tracks hosted a junior track meet. I did not race the "long" races (200 and 400m) but I did well in the 100. And unless I am much mistaken, I did very well in the second half of the race.
The pattern continued throughout the next several years. I noticed time and again that I could keep running throughout a soccer game without as much trouble as the rest of my teammates. This was a distinct advantage for me playing stopper (a central defender who generally ranges over the entire field). It also allowed my coaches to make full use of my primary ability: my extraordinarily long throw-in. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was able to hit the far goalpost from the half-line of the field, making teams reluctant to ever play the ball out of bounds. My speed and endurance allowed me to use this ability and still get back to defend if necessary.
The first time I ran a mile, I should have realized that I was destined for distance. We ran the dreaded "mile run" for gym class: 11 laps of the basketball court inside. Without realize at the time what it might mean, despite never having run more than 400 meters at a stretch before, and despite the less-than-ideal "track," I ran the mile in 7 minutes flat, leaving my classmates far behind.
That accomplishment notwithstanding, I proceeded the next year to join the sprinting team in track, primarily because that's what most of my friends were doing. I did well enough, placing in some events, and anchoring my relay teams. My spring season in 8th grade was cut short when I dislocated my hip anchoring the 4x200m relay.
I distinctly remember parents in the stands telling me to "walk it off."
Being young, I recovered fairly quickly, with at least one relapse. By the next spring, I was again running with the sprint team. When once again it was time for the "Presidential Fitness Tests," I ran the mile with my friend from the sprinting team. We finished with a time of 6 minutes this time, 30 seconds back from one of the distance runners in our grade. Again, I should have realized that I would be a good distance runner.
Naturally, I did not. I continued sprinting and in 10th grade had a breakout year. I started placing regularly in major meets in the long jump. I started anchoring both the 4x100 and 4x200 teams, when my coach discovered that I didn't want to relinquish a place once I had it. Had I been paying attention, I might have noticed that I was also quite good at the 400, and in fact the longer the race was, the better I did.
I did not notice this fact, and was named captain of the sprint team in what turned out to be a disappointing Junior track season. It was not until the next fall, when I started having knee problems, that two pivotal events happened. First, my doctor prescribed running to strengthen my knees, and second, possibly more importantly, I started dating a distance runner.
I got demoted that spring. I joined the distance runners, and so was no longer a captain. That was all to the good, as I was again plagued by injuries that season. But something had changed. I was now a distance runner to the core.
The pattern still continues: the longer the distance I run, the better I do. I did well in the 1000 meters in college. When I recovered from my broken ankle several years ago, I started running 5ks and 10ks, and did very well. Then I ran my first half marathon, which started with a 1.5 mile, 1500 foot climb up the side of a ski hill, and finished in the top 10% of a stacked field.
I have found that there is more to the pattern even than I thought. It is not simply that I perform better with increasing distance, I get better with increasing difficulty in general. Who knows what might be next? I am thinking of trying yet longer trail races, or possibly the Pikes Peak Ascent. But I can only conclude that, for me, it was fate and genetics that led me to distance running. Looking back at my own running history, I can't come to any other conclusion.
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