Over the past holiday season, I visited my family in Pennsylvania. As I trained that week, retracing the familiar roads and trails of my youth, my thoughts drifted to my relationship with running. I’ve been a runner in some shape or form since elementary school. That amounts to a lot of miles. When I think about it, it’s pretty crazy how much time I have dedicated to doing the same simple task over and over and over again. As the miles passed on the routes that I knew so well, I found myself thinking about what kept me coming back to the sport time and time again.
Zach Miller descending during the 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Learning From the Youth
On New Year’s Day, in between training sessions, my brother-in-law suggested we go climbing. Hence, we loaded up the cars and headed to the local rock gym with my niece and three of my nephews. I’m not much of a climber, but I enjoy trying a few routes and watching my niece and nephews venture up the wall. All under the age of seven, they are still learning the ropes. It’s a lot of fun to watch them as they try to figure things out.
Climbing is an interesting sport because you can go from feeling comfortable to scared in a very short period of time. I know because I’ve experienced it. One minute you are low to the ground and the holds feel good, and the next, you feel like you are on the verge of falling. That’s a very vulnerable place to be.
Watching my niece and nephews that day, I felt like I could see them finding their personal limits. They would often make the first few moves confidently, but as they got higher, or the moves got more difficult, their uncertainty would show. You could sense their fear. They would freeze and retreat.
Zach Miller temporarily trading trails for the climbing wall. All photos courtesy of Zach Miller unless otherwise noted.
But sometimes, while they were in that moment of uncertainty, we would offer a suggestion. “Can you reach this hold over here? Try putting your foot over there.” Sometimes they would still want to bail. Other times, they would take our guidance and venture a bit farther along the wall. They rarely made it all the way to the top, yet they were very stoked on their progress. The simple act of doing a little better and climbing a little higher was a win in and of itself.
When we left the climbing gym that day, it really seemed like they had had a good time. I think my niece, in particular, was quite pleased with herself and her achievements. She can get pretty timid when she’s uncomfortable, but she faced her fears and pushed herself to the edge of her comfort zone, and maybe even a bit beyond. For her, it didn’t matter if she’d gotten to the top of the wall or not.
Commitment to Process
In many ways, running can feel similar to climbing. Sometimes the effort results in a win, a qualification for a race, a contract, or maybe some prize money. It’s like reaching the top of a climbing route. The achievement is nice and all, but really, it’s just the cherry on top. It’s fascinating to me how unimportant the outcome actually is.
Zach Miller sprinting to the finish at the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Sure, I’m competitive and goal-oriented, but what I really enjoy about running is the process. I like the commitment to the grind, the satisfaction, and the sense of purpose that I get from showing up day after day, week after week, year after year. I like that I’ve pounded the dirt and pavement of my hometown in my teens, my twenties, and now my thirties. I’ve written a story across the place, and I’ve left sentences all over the world.
I’ve tackled projects and failed, only to regroup and try again the next season. I’ve reached for the top and fallen off the wall. Yet each time I return. I keep going back because I love it. I value it. And tangible or not, I get so much from it.
Through good and bad, high and low, running has always been there for me. Even when injured, it’s a north star that keeps me looking ahead and moving forward. Running is a journey that goes for as long as our minds and bodies will allow. It’s full of life lessons and ripe with perspective. It’s taught me how to stay calm under pressure and to see the value in efforts with no immediate finish line.
In a way, running is the most important thing in life that does not matter. And at the same time, that’s exactly why it does.
Some of the least important things in life turn out to be the most important. Photo courtesy of Zach Miller.
Call for Comments
- What aspect of running keeps you dedicated to the sport?
- How important is the ultimate outcome of training for you?
