10 Years on the Run

Ten years ago, I hit publish on my very first post on the Ali on the Run blog. Like everything in my life, I procrastinated the heck out of this little passion project. But once I hit publish, I was full steam ahead. I was so excited. Nervous, and excited.

My first post received zero comments. My second, third, fourth, and fifth posts didn’t see any action, either. But slowly, people started reading. People I wasn’t even related to! They started reading, and commenting, and I formed relationships and friendships through the screen. Meaningful ones. Ones that got me through some of the darkest days of my life.

Ali on the Run was where I documented *everything.* Probably too much. Relationships. Breakups. (The great breakup of 2011 was when my blog really gained traction, TBH. People wanted to read about more than just running and my nightly trips to 16 Handles, it seemed!) I wrote about every single run I went on. I could write 1,200 words about a 4-mile easy run on the Central Park Bridle Path. I wrote about my first 15-miler. My first 18-miler. My first 20-miler. My second 20-miler. My first marathon. I wrote about meeting Brian. (A wildly popular post!) I wrote about my life with Crohn’s disease. I got very emotional. I wrote about getting engaged in Hawaii, about wedding planning, and about our wedding, five years ago. I wrote about our honeymoon in Kenya. I introduced Ellie! And I documented every week of my pregnancy, eventually getting to introduce Annie and share her birth story. 

I’ve shared. I’ve over-shared. I’ve written 1,329 posts. I have 11 more sitting in my “Drafts” folder, which will likely never see the light of the screen. I’ve approved 38,732 comments.

When I first started blogging, one decade ago, I did what everyone else was doing. I updated twice a day. I wrote about things like oatmeal. I cringe, looking back. But eventually, I found my way. I found my voice.

Happy 10th Birthday, Ali on the Run. Ten years ago, I had no idea what I was in for. No idea how much my life would change. How many people I would meet along the way. How many opportunities I’d encounter. THANK YOU to everyone who has clicked, scrolled, and read along. Here’s to the next 10. The next 10 days, weeks, months, years. Who knows how long I’ll keep doing this, even infrequently. But I’m so happy to have this pretty pink corner of the internet that I’ll be able to look back on forever, or until I forget to renew my domain.