I have no idea who started Global Running Day or whey they did it.  Doesn’t really matter at this point, because I’ve found a better use for it.

I know it’s better, because I’m using the day to express my gratitude to people who, in ways large and small, have contributed to my running life.

I believe that’s the best possible way to spend the day.   That’s because I know from studying the science of happiness that the heartfelt expression of gratitude is the single most impactful practice we can perform to grow our own happiness.

Sure, go ahead and run. I’m going to do that as well.  But it’s not enough. We can do that any day of the year. Today, join me in Global Running Day to reach out individually to people who have made running a better part of your life.

For me, it’s a wide ranging list, from those I run with regularly: the two knuckleheads I run with regularly during the week at lunchtime and the ultramarathoner who I idolize and who I can occasionally catch up with on some of her shorter runs.

To the folks I run with every once in a while:  the Saturday morning group, the Sunday morning group, the trail runner / golfing buddy with the infectious laugh, the rogue group of trail runners who summit a local mountain with evening runs that end at the bar, the author and friend who swears he absolutely loved my running memoir, the guys I run a marathon relay with once a year, and my grad school buddy who assures me we are going to run Boston someday.

To those I can only run with vicariously: the yoga teacher/health coach/writer who whose tiny little instagram posts of her Washington DC runs always make me wish I was running next to her and the physician neighbor who joins me in vowing we will get out together one of these days.

These are just a few of the folks who are primary in my running life today, which means they are but the tip of the iceberg of people in my past who have helped make running a lifelong pursuit.

Who can you think of, past or present day, that has helped you?  I encourage you to make Global Running Day the excuse to reach out and thank them for making running a part of your life.  Let them know.