Welcome to Run That Mile! The place for
- Runners-to-be,
- Runners who hope to maintain a healthy run-life balance, and
- People who want to feel free and live well with the help of running.
It is great to have you here, and I hope I can help you enjoy your life with running!
Mission
Inspire non-runners to start running and become the information source for aspiring runners.
Who am I?
Hello there! I am Brian.
I am currently based in Hong Kong, but I lived most of my adult life in Seattle WA. I have also lived in Australia and Japan. I enjoy exploring, traveling, and a pint of good beer at the end of the day.
Fortunately, I have a full-time job that gives me a lot of travel opportunities* and to try beer around the world. To make things even better, I have stayed adequately running-fit so I can squeeze in the most amount of exploring during my trips. It is great feeling free to do what I enjoy and live well.
*the traveling is now on halt due to COVID-19
How does running affect me?
I am a recreational runner in my 30s who has run on and off for 15 years. 3 years ago, I wanted to cross off some running-related bucket list items, so I picked up running a bit more. I am extremely glad that I achieved a sub-40 10k, sub-3 marathon, qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon, completed two 50km ultramarathons and one 100km ultramarathon.
For these bucket list items, I joined running groups, followed coaches, read books, and researched on running knowledge. Running brought me new friends and gave me a brand-new appreciation to my body. I also watched YouTubes about competitive runners from different parts of the world, and their stories inspire me positively in all aspects of my life.
While it sounds nice to be competitive in running, the effort and sacrifice (regular 50+ mile weeks and no beer? Ewww!) seems too overwhelming for me to enjoy my life. However, I realized a right amount of running helped me gain a better sense of freedom and live a fuller life.
Looking back, there were multiple periods in my life where I stopped running for extended periods, up to a year. I even dreaded the thought of running. I gave myself excuses – too exhausted from work, too hot, too cold, no time, no gear, body feeling shitty, too hard to start, etc.
Then, for whatever reason, I would go through the journey of transitioning from a non-runner to runner. After many of these journeys, I could even jokingly say that I am an experienced beginner runner. Because of this, I have been sharing my experience with friends and helped them become runners.
In the past 3 years, I deep dived into the running world. I learned how to run better, how to make running easier, and how to keep running as part of my life. As a result, I learned a lot about myself and knowledge about running. Now, I see running as a part of my life for the foreseeable future.
Why this blog?
I realized that running opened my world. I feel control over my body, I am happier, and I can travel farther than many. I am still living my life without running taking over (I still get a beer whenever I like). You do not need to be an all-in runner to reap the benefits from running!
Over the years, I have shared pieces of my experience and knowledge with friends. Then, it came across to me that I really enjoyed seeing my friends become happier people. I want to share what I know to a wider audience and keep a record for myself and others. This is why I created this blog.
I understand you could go to Google or YouTube and there would be thousands of results showing every aspect of running. While this is informative (and where I got most of my running knowledge), it is overwhelming for you if you are just trying to start your day 1 of running.
Running comes naturally to us as a child so we know it does not need to be complex. I have once spent too much time looking for every aspect of running to become perfect, instead of just getting the few necessary tips and act. Since I already went through the long way of trying to be perfect, I want to share the knowledge and help you save time and run that first mile.
I hope what I experienced over the years will help transition you effectively to a world with running, as I believe it is a world worth entering for you to feel free and live well. I am excited for you! Just run that mile!
