Why I Run (On Purpose): Adventures of an Okayest Runner

Welcome to Jen Runs On Purpose, a blog that exists because I somehow became a runner… on purpose.

Not accidentally.
Not because someone dared me.
Not because I lost a bet.
On. Purpose.

But let’s start at the beginning.

I didn’t start running because I loved it.
I didn’t start running because it looked fun.
Honestly, I didn’t even start running because I thought I could.

I started running because I needed to feel better after cancer.

Recovering from breast cancer puts you in that weird after-zone where you’re “finished” with treatment but absolutely not finished with… anything. I tried every post-treatment wellness idea the internet threw at me—meditation, journaling, walking, yoga, and the occasional half-hearted Pilates video. Lovely activities. Zero impact on me.

I vented to my sister/cousin (same person; long story, family is weird and efficient), and she suggested I try a local Couch to 5K program. Running had never been my thing, but honestly? At that point, I thought: Why not? It couldn’t hurt worse than whatever fresh horrors yoga had inflicted on my hamstrings.

So I signed up. And then something shocking happened.

Running actually helped.

Not right away. At first it felt like punishment wrapped in spandex. But the forward motion started untangling the physical and emotional knots I’d been carrying. Every run felt like reclaiming another little piece of myself.

Then I found the community.
And that is when everything clicked.

I started with a group of lovable crazies called The Stampeding Turtles. We kept each other (mostly) sane through the wildness of COVID. We threw parties for absolutely anything even remotely worth celebrating. Eventually the group drifted apart, as groups do… though many of us found our way back together later, like emotionally sweaty boomerangs.

By the end of 2022, I needed a change. A friend offered me free training with a local program. I said yes, because when the universe throws you a free coach, you take it. I stayed with that group until the end of 2024.

And then came the plot twist:
I almost quit running entirely.

I hit a wall—mentally, physically, emotionally. Running and I were on the verge of an official breakup announcement.

Enter my running friend, current coach, and future head clown of The World’s Okayest Runners. With suspiciously perfect timing, he hit me with a pep talk and invited me to join the brand-new training program he was building from scratch.

There was just one problem: I was recovering from pneumonia, bronchitis, and lung spasms. A trifecta no one wants.

I wasn’t sure running was a great idea. But Coach Homey told me to just come out and walk and see what happened.

So I did.

And that “one more try” turned into an entirely new chapter—one where I actually enjoy seeing what my body can do. Not in an Olympian, “look at my quads” way. More like a “holy crap, look at me go after everything this body and I have survived” way.

After cancer, every mile feels like a tiny miracle.

And somewhere along the way, a small core group of us created the brilliantly imperfect, wildly supportive world of The World’s Okayest Runners. We’re a group that shows up, tries our best, laughs at the messiness, and celebrates progress—no matter how small. They are my people. My circus. My home base.

So that’s why I run.
That’s why this blog exists.
And that’s why you are here at Jen Runs On Purpose—a place for the imperfect, the persistent, and the delightfully okayest among us.

Welcome to the adventure.
Let’s see where the miles take us.