Why Running Helps: A Lifelong Companion Through Every Season of Life

Written By Adam Glendye

For as long as I can remember, running has been the one constant in my life. It has changed forms, changed purposes, and changed distance — but it has always been there. In every season, running has given me something I didn’t even know I needed: direction, perspective, clarity, confidence, community, and, above all, connection to who I want to become.

This is the story of how running has shaped every chapter of my life — from childhood frustrations to ultramarathons — and why I believe it remains one of the most powerful tools for mental fitness and personal transformation.

1. Running Helped Me Navigate Childhood Frustration

When I was a kid, emotions felt big, confusing, and heavy — especially frustration, confusion, and anger. Any time I felt frustrated with my brothers or overwhelmed by something I couldn’t control, I found myself doing the same thing:

I ran.

Two miles from our house was a community dock. When I was upset, I’d bolt out the door and run the two miles there, sit for a minute, breathe, and then run the two miles back.

Something happened on those four-mile loops.
Something alchemical.

My perspective shifted.
My emotions settled.
My mind cleared.

Back then, I didn’t understand mental fitness. I didn’t know anything about emotional regulation or coping skills. But I instinctively found my way into one of the healthiest practices I could have developed: moving my body to move my mind.

Running taught me how to process anger, not bury it.
It taught me how to calm my thoughts, not fight them.
It taught me how to return home different than I left.

2. Running Became the Foundation of My Athletic Life

All throughout my childhood and teenage years, I played football, basketball, and baseball at a high level. Looking back now, running was at the center of everything — the conditioning, the stamina, the discipline, the mental toughness.

Those four-mile childhood loops became the earliest form of self-training.

Running made me:

  • faster

  • stronger

  • more resilient

  • more competitive

  • more focused

It was the quiet engine underneath every sport I played.
Even then, running wasn’t just physical — it was shaping my mindset, my habits, and my identity.

3. Running Helped Me Make Sense of Life During My Divorce

My relationship with running deepened during one of the hardest seasons of my life: my divorce at age 25.

Pain has a way of overwhelming the mind.
Heartbreak blurs everything.

During that time, running became my safe place.

I’d go out on long runs — sometimes disappearing for hours — and it was on those roads and trails that I began to make sense of who I was, what I wanted, and how I would rebuild my life. Running didn’t fix everything, but it gave me:

  • space to feel

  • room to breathe

  • clarity to think

  • courage to heal

  • strength to keep going

It gave me time with myself.
And when your world feels like it’s falling apart, that’s priceless.

4. Running Helped Shape My Counseling Career

In graduate school and early in my counseling career, running became something new again: a space for reflection.

Before speaking engagements, I’d go run.
Before writing a keynote, I’d go run.
Before big decisions, big ideas, or big conversations — I’d go run.

Running became the place where I organized my thoughts, processed my emotions, clarified my message, and prepared myself to serve others.

Some people rehearse in front of mirrors.
Some people pace.
I run.

Many of the concepts I teach today — about mindset, emotional endurance, mental fitness, purpose, and personal growth — were born on runs in Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, and the trails around Samford University.

Running strengthened my body, yes.
But more importantly, it strengthened my voice.

5. Running Helped Me Rediscover Myself After Burnout

In my 30s, something changed: I got burnt out.
Running felt tired. I felt tired.

So I pivoted into bodybuilding — a completely different world of discipline, intensity, and transformation. I added nearly 100 pounds of muscle, trained for hours in the gym, and discovered confidence I had never experienced before.

Bodybuilding taught me structure.
It taught me focus.
It taught me how to push through discomfort in a whole new way.

But eventually, I realized something: I missed the version of me that running brought out.

Around age 39, I watched several friends my age begin to struggle with their health — heart attacks, weight gain, exhaustion, emotional heaviness. I knew I needed to return to the one thing that had always brought me home to myself so I could prevent the same fate as my friends.

So I signed up for a half-marathon in Peachtree City, GA.
Three months later, I ran a 1:49 after more than a decade away from racing.

The moment I crossed that finish line, something clicked.
Running wasn’t just back in my life — it was alive again.

6. Running Turned Into Adventure Through Ultramarathons

After rediscovering running, I began following ultrarunners like Andy Glaze, Courtney DeWalter, Sally McRae, and Rachel Entriken. What drew me to them wasn’t their speed — it was their adventure.

They talked about running long distances through mountains as a way of learning who they were.
They talked about the mind more than the miles.
They talked about mental fitness more than medals.

That felt familiar.
That felt like home.

In 2025, I stepped into the world of ultramarathons.

Three ultras.
Three terrains.
Fifteen weeks.
A life-changing chapter.

Ultras are not about speed.
They’re about endurance — mentally, physically, and emotionally.

They teach you what’s left when everything else is gone.
They teach you who you are when you’re tired, hungry, frustrated, and deep in your thoughts.
They teach you to break through self-imposed limits and discover the depth of your resilience.

Ultras taught me — again — that the mind will quit long before the body does if we let it.

7. Running Helps Me Help Others

My counseling company is called The Pursuit for a reason.

Running is a pursuit.
Healing is a pursuit.
Identity is a pursuit.
Leadership is a pursuit.
Your best self is a pursuit.

Running has given me the language, the metaphors, and the lived experience to help people overcome their own barriers:

  • mental

  • emotional

  • relational

  • professional

  • physical

I love helping people get out of their own way.
I love helping them pursue the best version of themselves.
And running has been one of my greatest teachers in how to do that.

No Matter the Season, Running Has Been There

When I was frustrated and stuck, running helped me cope.
When I was an athlete, running helped me perform.
When my world fell apart, running helped me heal.
When I became a counselor, running helped me think.
When I entered a new decade, running helped me rediscover myself.
When I needed a new challenge, running helped me grow.

Running has been more than a habit — it’s been a companion.
A teacher.
A guide.
A mirror.
A ritual.
A reset.
A pursuit.

And now, as I continue exploring the world of ultramarathons, running continues to help me learn the most important truth:

No matter the season of life — running has always been there. And it always will be.

Adam Glendye
Previous

Why I’ve Invested Over $100,000 Into Becoming a Better Leader — And Why It Matters for Your Clinic
Next

Goal Setting for Mental Fitness & Business Growth: How to Build Your Short, Medium, and Long-Term Vision