Why Running Is Recess for Grown-Ups

Reclaiming Play and Joy in the Miles

Maybe this is something you can relate to, and I don’t know when it happened. Somewhere between childhood and now, for most people running stopped being fun. Maybe it was when PE class turned into timed miles on a hot track while an underpaid gym teacher yelled at us to “push harder!” Maybe it was when life got overwhelming and the struggle to pay bills, balance familial responsibilities, and whatever other adult nonsense took over. Or maybe it was the first time you looked in the mirror and thought, “Someone has been drinking far too many quad-shot, double espresso, triple whip, frappe, mocha chinos with heavy cream and a snickers on top. Maybe you should lose some weight,” and suddenly, movement became about fixing something instead of going outside to have fun and just feeling alive.

But here’s the thing, running doesn’t have to be some grueling chore that you absolutely hate. It doesn’t have to be about splits, training plans, or proving anything. If you let it, running can be what it was when you were a kid: recess. A time to break free. A time to play. And a time to run just because it feels good.

The Glory Days of Recess

Remember recess? Those precious minutes of pure, chaotic freedom? The second that school bell rang, we were out the door like a pack of wild animals, sprinting to the playground like it was the Olympic 100-meter final. There was no warming up, no stretching—just the sheer, unfiltered joy of running around, climbing on everything, and generally wreaking havoc on the playground.

And the games? Absolute classics. Freeze tag, where your friend would “accidentally” forget to unfreeze you so they could chase someone else. Red Rover, where you’d either break through a wall of kids or get absolutely clotheslined (good times). Dodgeball, which was basically sanctioned child warfare. We didn’t think about heart rates or VO2 max—we just played. We ran because it felt good, because it was part of being alive, and because nothing else mattered in those moments. Talk about being present!

When Did Running Become a Chore?

Fast forward to adulthood, and for some reason, running turned into a punishment. We run to burn calories. We run to train for something. We run to justify eating tacos (which, for the record, you don’t have to justify—just eat the damn tacos). And somehow, in the process, we lost the joy. Running became a job instead of a game. Something else to fit into an already long and exhausting day.

And I get it. Life is busy! Work, family, stress—all of it piles up. The idea of lacing up and going for a run can feel like another task on the never-ending to-do list. Which is all the more reason why running makes so much sense. What if we shifted our mindset? What if running wasn’t a responsibility but a privilege? What if we stopped seeing it as a grind and started seeing it as a time for recess again? A break from the overwhelm of day to day life?

The Recess Mindset: Running for the Joy of It

Here’s the secret: running can be recess. It can be a break from the stress, the responsibilities, and the constant and ever-increasing weight of adulting. It doesn’t have to be serious. It doesn’t have to be structured. It just has to feel good.

Think about it—when was the last time you ran for no reason? Not for training, not because your watch told you to, but just to feel the wind on your face? When was the last time you sprinted down a hill because it felt fun? Or jumped over a puddle instead of running around it? Or ran through the woods imagining you were in some epic adventure movie?

That’s the recess mindset. That’s the joy we lost somewhere along the way. And the good news? We can get it back. Sure, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it isn’t going to happen overnight. It took years to get out of shape, and it’s going to take longer than a day to get back into shape. But, surprise! It happens much quicker than you expect.

Running as a Gateway to Feeling Like a Kid Again

If you’re struggling with getting back into running (or just struggling with life in general), shifting your mindset toward play instead of performance can change everything. I like to use New Month Resolutions to break things up into bite sized chunks. New Month Resolutions follows a SMART approach to help build consistency in the habit, which ultimately leads to rediscovering the enjoyment of consistent movement again, but I digress! Running can be a tool for reclaiming your health, but it can also be so much more!

Remember how much fun you had outside as a kid? Running around barefoot in the grass. Riding bikes with no idea where you were going. Climbing trees even though your mom specifically told you not to. There was something about moving your body in the fresh air that made you feel alive, and totally limitless.

And that’s still in you. Even if you’ve spent years sitting at a desk, even if life has worn you down, even if you’ve convinced yourself you’re “too old” for this kind of thing—it’s still there. You just have to give yourself permission to find it again.

How to Make Running Fun Again

Want to turn your runs into recess? Try this:

1. Ditch the Watch (sometimes). Forget pace. Forget distance. Just go out and run like you did when you were a kid—fast, slow, whatever feels right. No numbers, no pressure.


2. Run in Weird Places. Trails, parks, maybe you are somewhere close to a beach — anywhere that feels more like an adventure and less like a treadmill death march.


3. Play Games with Your Run. Race a stranger to the next streetlight (without them knowing). Jump over cracks in the sidewalk. Pretend you’re running from a zombie apocalypse (or an angry recess monitor—you know, the one who lived for the moment they could blow that damn whistle at you with every bit of oxygen they could muster).


4. Run with Friends, but Keep It Silly. Bring back the buddy system. High-five strangers. Make up stupid challenges mid-run. Laugh. Be ridiculous.


5. Run Like Nobody’s Watching. Because honestly, nobody cares what you look like. If they do, they’re the ones who forgot how to have fun.


The Freedom of Movement

At its core, running is one of the simplest, purest forms of movement. It’s not about looking a certain way, wearing certain clothes (most of my wardrobe consists of whatever I found on sale at Sierra Trading Post), or proving anything to anyone other than yourself. It’s about letting go. It’s about movement for movement’s sake. It’s about getting outside to breathe in the fresh air.

And yeah, life is hard sometimes. There’s stress, there’s pain, there’s all the heavy stuff we carry. But the simple act of running—of throwing on some shoes (or not), stepping outside, and moving forward—can be a lifeline. It can be your way of shaking off the weight of the world, if only for a few miles. Because I guarantee, no matter how long or short that time outside is, it will become some of your most precious moments of each and every day.

So go ahead. Give yourself permission to stop overcomplicating it. Let running and spending time outside be fun again. Let it be your recess from adulting. And don’t take it so seriously! The recess monitor isn’t going to yell at you for running on the blacktop and make you walk laps as punishment until the bell rings! Besides, some rules were always meant to be broken.