My first key memory of running was in elementary school. My PE course had us run a mile on an irregular park trail circuit. At this point, I was quite the out-of-shape 10-year-old. Even with all I could muster, I finished dead last and clocked in at 12 minutes. When I revisit this memory, I remember feeling one emotion: disappointment.

Shortly after, my parents started taking me to the Nike store, which hosted a run club. I was never fond of waking up at 7am for these runs, but the Nike Run Club did have a prize for the committed: a 100 Mile Club t-shirt. Not one to pass up on flashing to everyone that I did a thing, I made getting that shirt my next goal. First a mile, then two, eventually five; slowly but surely, I kept coming back every Saturday morning, running further each time, and eventually earning my t-shirt.

“Stunting on y’all even in Puerto Rico”.

In this process, I came to see running as therapeutic. I felt like I was running away from all my problems. In my long runs, I’d zone out and conjure elaborate daydreams. So even after getting that shirt, week after week, I continued to show up and run. I came to enjoy running so much that through middle and high school, I participated in cross-country and track. I ended up specializing in short-distance sprints for track, but through cross-country and the occasional mile events, I still had moments to improve my long-distance running.

I also continued to run with the Nike Run Club, and in 2009, the club raffled a spot in the Nike Women’s half marathon. I won the spot – but the race was one week out! I had no conditioning whatsoever for this distance; it was always going to be a bad idea to proceed with the race. Yet I wanted to have this running milestone under my belt – so I did it anyway. I started off fine, but at the 10th mile, something in my right left gave way. I limped my way to the end, and honestly it was a traumatizing experience. I had injured my adductor muscles; it affected my subsequent track season, but thankfully not my PE grade.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard” - PE teacher on my running a half marathon with no conditioning.

Through physical therapy, and just keeping at it, I recovered and was able to see through XC / track through the end of high school. I didn’t continue with either sport when I went off to college, but I did join the Cal Running Club. In that club, and running solo in the Fire Trails and along the Ohlone Greenway, I was able to improve my jogging and long-distance running further. I would participate in some half marathons here and there, bringing my time down to 1:55 and completing races injury-free, even if I needed to walk here and there.

“Still suffering the same race four years later”.

I didn’t have much of a network when I came to Seattle. Reflecting on where I had made many of my friends over the years, it had always been through run clubs – so I sought to find my next club. I first tried out a few via Meetup, but those didn’t last too long due to lack of critical mass. I was vaguely aware of SFR, but at the time I was skeptical of joining an expressly queer club. Other run clubs either had inconvenient times or inconvenient locations, so after developing a habit of running alone, I didn’t broach the topic again.

Recently my last romantic relationship ended, and I wanted to change things up. I thought being in the presence of fellow queer folk and being more plugged into the queer community might do me good. With running as such a core part of my identity, I figured SFR was a natural place to start.

I’m glad I did. Showing up was daunting at first; I never do well in large crowds. But by continuing to show up, I eventually found connection and a place in the club. Knowing SFR was going to the Bellingham Bay Half and the Seattle Marathon, I signed up for both. Over this past summer, I conditioned with SFR and long solo runs, and at the Bellingham Bay half, I surprised myself with a 1:40 finish time.

Riding this high, I had high expectations for the Seattle Marathon: I targeted a sub-4 hour finish time for my first marathon. Of course, I didn't have a good pacing strategy, and it got the best of me, clocking in at 4:20. It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but in retrospect, I found a neat perspective. Even after running 13 miles and running the rest at a degraded pace, I was able to maintain 12 min/mi. Some decades ago, that was the fastest I could muster. Looking back, it’s nice to know I’ve come a long way since.

Being in SFR has certainly pushed me to be a better runner, and I’m excited for what’s coming next: a half Iron Man, actually running a marathon under four hours, Gay Games 2023, more track meets, and maybe even some cross country meets. I can’t imagine doing all this without SFR having my back, and I’m glad to have found my running community again.

Happy New Year folks! 新年快樂！Let’s go chase all our running goals this year! Look forward to hearing where running will take you next.

12 Minutes, by Eric Chen