I asked for this question!

Why you go through the pain of running to reach your personal best?

I first have to clarify that running for me is not very painful. I don't find it disagreeable and in general I find it fun, but would like to do it faster. I have had my fair share of injuries, a weird foot thing, shin splints, some big blisters, the usual; that is just what I expect from it. The human body is a work of art, art is delicate sometimes thus I expect that some of the steps taken to improve it won't always be pleasant, but will be beneficial.

I have no idea what my personal best is, so I don't really look at it as I'm going to reach anything. It's more a mind over matter type of thing. I just know I can push myself further, want to push myself further, will push myself further, always! Also, I am comparing myself to people around me stoking my ego when I can and raising the bar when I can't.

A recent addition to why I run is my medical condition. I've explained it before how as a result of running I discovered cancer. Because that is a result of running, I feel some debt to running and must continue to do it in order to continue to save my life!

Finally, and in my case probably firstly, I admit... I'm a bit vain. Not offensively, but I do think I can look better and feel better as a result of running. This goes back the body as art thing and enhancing and preserving it.