"Some people create with words or music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run." – Steve Prefontaine

It is early in the morning and the sun is just breaking over the Coast Range to the east. There is fog visible stretching its wispy fingers out over the bay and the ding of a distant buoy softly pierces the crisp morning air. "What a morning to be alive," I say to myself as I lace up my shoes and hit the pavement for my morning run. With a mile to go I am running on all eight cylinders, my breath coming in deep controlled heaves, my eyes focused just up the road. Bam! Bam! Bam! My heals strike the asphalt with a shudder, my legs straining under the force before lifting off again and arching back and up, then forward and down again until...Bam! Nearing the stop sign that marks the finish I am sprinting all out. My breathing is coming in gasps and my imaginary competitor matches me stride for stride, pounding heart beat for pounding heart beat. One hundred meters to go and I can smell the victory. Time slows to a crawl and I can envision coming around the final curve, shoulders bumping, arms pumping, every muscle tensed and screaming for oxygen. I grit my teeth, focus in on the white finish line, and win the race—the red stop sign flashes past and I slow to a walk.

This is what Steve Prefontaine's quote "Some people create with words or music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful, when I run." means to me. Prefontaine was right to make the comparison of running to art. After all, just like art, running is a form of expression, a magnificent tapestry textured with desire, dedication, comradeship, confidence, and pain. And just like an accomplished artist, every runner has their own style. That is what Prefontaine had and it is what I strive for. He may not have had the prettiest stride in the sport, but he definitely created the most beautiful art. For me, running is my main form of expression and it is comforting to know that whenever I am frustrated, preoccupied, depressed, or just itching to test myself, I can simply lace up my shoes and create a masterpiece. All it takes is a little ambition.