Running isn’t a competition (even if it is)

Comparison is the thief of joy

One of the hardest parts of running isn’t the running itself.

It’s everything you notice while you’re doing it.

• The people who glide past you.

• The runners who look effortless.

• The pace you think you should be running by now.

It’s often said that “comparison is the thief of joy” — and it definitely has a sneaky way of turning something simple into something heavy.

And it shows up everywhere:

At parkrun, in run groups, on Strava — even on quiet solo runs where no one else is around… except the voice in your head.

That voice might say things like:

• I’m slowing everyone down.

• I should be fitter than this.

• They make it look so easy.

• I don’t belong here.

But comparison is rarely fair.

You’re comparing your inside — how tired you feel, how hard it is, how nervous you might be — to someone else’s outside.

You don’t see their injuries.

Their bad runs.

Their years of gradual build-up.

Or the days they didn’t go out at all.

And you’re not running the same life.

• Different bodies.

• Different histories.

• Different stresses.

• Different starting points.

Running alongside someone doesn’t mean running the same race.

At BraveKind, I don’t believe in racing other people.

I believe in learning your own rhythms.

That might mean:

Letting others go ahead

Running at a pace where you can breathe and think

Choosing consistency over comparison

Progress over perfection

Progress looks different on everyone — and that’s not a weakness.

It’s reality.

So if comparison creeps in on your next run, try this instead:

Come back to your effort. Your breath. Your body.

The only run that matters is the one you’re in.

And the only direction worth moving in…

…is forward, at your own pace.

— Tim