During the past four years, I’ve written 535 articles about running on this small corner of the Internet. It’s not successful race experiences, training insights, inspiring fitness stories, tips for how to be your best runner, giveaways or triathlon advice that resonate most with people. It’s the moments of struggle, hardship and sometimes what feels like downright personal failure that moves you time and time again.

Why is that? The answer is simple. Because we all understand it. We all experience it in both running and in life. And, oftentimes, we’re scared or ashamed or not sure how to talk about it. Ironically, we don’t realize how many people all around us are going through the same exact thing and who just need a reason to share.

On Monday, I opened up about where I really am in my personal running journey. Just like when I shared about how endurance training can negatively impact your personal relationships, or the constant tug-of-war between getting on the clean eating wagon and falling off again, or losing perspective of what really matters or even having a miscarriage … your words are where the power comes, not mine. The stories flow out like water that has been trapped in a bursting pipe. Not a trickle. Not a drip. A full-on deluge of “me too,” “thank goodness I’m not the only one” and “let me tell you about when I was there but how I have overcome … which means you will too.”

We’ve all heard that sharing is caring. But in this case, caring is sharing. Because the running community cares about each other, we have the courage to share. And in sharing, we realize we are not alone.

The generosity and thoughtfulness of the running community and runladylike.com readers humble me to my core. What YOU share matters. YOUR story, YOUR experiences make a difference.

When you are having a hard day …

When you are tempted to let a bad run or a sluggish fitness streak create self-doubt …

When you don’t know how to overcome a challenge …

When your body or your brain feel like they are betraying you …

When you hit a bump in the road in your running relationship …

Just remember you’re not alone.

It doesn’t matter if you win countless races or will never see a podium in your life, every runner experiences the spectrum of emotions, seasons and moments that come with a long-term relationship with running. In case you ever forget, the person you pass on your local trail or see win a race on TV or read regularly online, they’ve all been exactly where you are right now (or will be at some point). As a runner, you’re never alone.

Thanks for being a community of rock stars. Rock, er, run on!

Are there any issues or conversations you wish were discussed more in the running community?