I got tired of living the life that everybody told me I "should" be living , so one day I decided to start living life on my own terms. Frustrated with my job, I came home, put on my shoes, and just started running. It felt so good to be free. That first day I ended up running 30 miles without stopping. Yes, I had rediscovered my old passion ( ) -- and it felt so good I set a goal to support myself and my family from my running alone. I trained hard every day. Since I wanted to be the best I could be, I knew I would have to set some clear goals for myself. A couple of my goals were: run a 135-mile ultra-marathon  across Death Valley, win the Badwater Ultra-Marathon, and run a marathon to the South Pole. I had no idea how I was going to achieve these goals, but they certainly encouraged me to work hard. Today, I am really grateful to say that I have achieved all of them. Shortly after completing these goals, I set another goal: to run fifty marathons, in fifty states, in fifty days. Nobody had done anything like this before. To be honest, I was not quite sure if I could. But there was only one way to find out...so I just started training and preparing to give it my best try. I completed _ one year ago, and it felt great! But for me, life is not all about achieving goals. Sure, it feels good to succeed, but the greatest reward for me was learning more about myself and what I was able to do. Only by stepping out into the unknown and stretching  ourselves can we really discover what our true potential  is. Why did the author decide to become a runner?
He was out of work. He wanted to treat his illness. He wanted to live his dreams. He suddenly found running interesting.