prolog.
The more you run, the stronger and broader your life becomes.

Part 1.
How to Grow Through Running

If life doesn't feel right, here's one thing you should do now:
A day that starts with a run can change your life.
○ Runner's Question: What is the best training method?
Let's stop comparing and move forward at our own pace.
What Running Taught Her When She Suffered from Depression
The Best Way to Build a Chain of Good Habits
The secret to elementary school children's self-esteem through voluntary running
○ Runner's Question: I'm so busy, do I really need to warm up?
Things I only realized after running with my father
Learning the Leadership Attitude Through Running
○ Runner's Question: I want to improve my skills little by little while having fun. How should I exercise?
A runner mom who recovered her wounded self-esteem after marriage.

Part 2.
Small habits can make dramatic changes.

Love me as I strive to grow
It takes courage to move forward slowly.
○ Runner's Question: How many races should I participate in during the season?
We need the wisdom to transform jealousy into healthy fighting spirit.
If you give up, you will know your own rock bottom.
○ Runner's Question: I started training for long runs slowly.
What should I do?
A person with his own rhythm is free.
The reason why I, who was sensitive and timid, was able to change
Excessive pressure can distract you from your goals.
Who will you be, the one who runs with a smile or the one who runs with a frown?

Part 3.
Expanding possibilities and the future

If you plan to walk from the beginning, don't start
Attitude toward life's challenges: "I'll help you."
There is no perfect condition for waiting for someone who is still.
○ Runner's Question: I think training methods will be different depending on the season.
What should I keep in mind?
You have to know when to throw away what you need to throw away.
○ Runner's Question: I have an obsession with running to a perfect number.

Finish it on your own, no one will finish it for you.
The Miracle of the Boston Marathon
○ Runner's Question: What are the world's seven major marathons and how do I participate?
You have to relax your shoulders to move forward easily.
Aren't you missing out on the scenery of life while running forward without looking back?

Part 4.
Life wisdom learned on the road, wisdom of relationships

The wisdom of pace control: Interpersonal relationships are like interval running.
○ Runner's Question: I blindly followed interval training because I heard it would make me faster, but I ended up injured.

One step that changed him after he was fired from his job and gained over 100 kg.
Let's choose 'love more' over 'faster'
○ Runner's Question: I'm losing confidence because I'm participating in competitions as if I'm trying to prove my skills.
The best exercise for families to grow together
○ Runner's Question: Is it really necessary to do a cool-down exercise?
Alone we are free, together we go further and faster.
Both exercise and relationships require appropriate social distancing.
Learn to be generous and not treat others rudely.

Epilogue.
I want to keep running even when I become a grandmother
Special appendix.
My Running Journal: A Record of Running and Life

2000m, 5000m, 20km, 45.195km…
Marathon legend Kwon Eun-ju, who broke South Korea's record

For over 30 years, I have trained myself and guided others.
The Power of Acquired Self-Directed Habits

As we go through life, we encounter things that we don't want to happen.
When results aren't immediately apparent, when your mind is cluttered, when you want to ignore the problem and retreat into comfort, when days pass by when you feel like you can see something but can't, when you feel like you can grasp something but can't, even your firm resolve is likely to crumble in the face of the wall of reality.
What is needed in these moments is a clear mind and a clear heart, a strong stamina to sustain the power of immersion, and a strong determination to hold on to thoughts you want to ignore.
If we acquire both mental strength and physical strength and make them a habit, we can use them as useful tools in life at any time.
The author, Eun-ju Kwon, confidently states that the simplest and most effective way to develop such habits is none other than running. In this book, she reveals the power of running habits that she has learned through training herself and coaching others over the past 30 years.


Eun-ju Kwon, who made a name for herself by setting new records in the 2000m, 5000m, and 20km races, and was eventually called the 'marathon legend' by setting a new Korean marathon record in the full course marathon.
He continued his career as an athlete by training himself rigorously, and after retirement, he taught people and guided countless people to change, saying, “Running is the turning point in life.”
I wanted to share the secrets of habit formation with more people, having witnessed firsthand the changes people experience through running, leading them through the process of achieving fulfillment and healing their hearts, despite the uncertainties surrounding their work, relationships, studies, and employment.
Having personally coached tens of thousands of people in the field, I hope that more people will learn the life-changing running habits and develop the strength to overcome difficulties. So, I decided to reveal the secrets of change that I have cultivated over many years.
He emphasizes.

“Beyond simply acquiring running skills, you can wisely develop your body and mind.”

How can I tap into my inner self and awaken the power of change? This book reveals the secret.


Beyond skill acquisition, into a world of immersion,
A sure teaching that awakens the deep inner self

There is a question he gets asked a lot, as he has continued to run at 4:30 in the morning every day even after his athletic career.

“How can you keep running for so long without getting tired?”

He says that we must learn and practice running that develops our inner self wisely, beyond simply acquiring running skills.
The author points out that if you try to find the answer in running fast, you may end up comparing yourself to others who are growing faster than you, which can actually lead you away from the good habit of running.
Ironically, he cites 'gratitude, leisure, the aesthetics of slowness, and waiting' as one of the secrets.
The emphasis is on being grateful for being able to focus on the present and having the freedom to move forward with those around you rather than running alone.


In particular, among these, what puzzles people the most is the aesthetics of slowness and waiting.
Even if running is just a hobby, achieving a record requires speed. So what does it mean to say slowness and patience are necessary? The point is that only by learning to slow down and wait for yourself to grow can you truly experience immersion and the joy of accomplishment.
It is a valuable lesson learned through the harsh realization of my own experience and the growth stories of countless others.


This is heartbreaking advice that he can give, having experienced a long period of painful surgery and rehabilitation due to an injury while running forward and forward.
Compared to his running career, he doesn't have much experience completing full-course marathons.
Over the course of three years, I had to endure two major surgeries, hospital treatment, and rehabilitation exercises.
In addition, he suffered frequent injuries during his playing days, which meant he was unable to train consistently for a long time.
It was the result of being obsessed with running without even taking the necessary breaks and ignoring what my body was telling me.
To have a long and enjoyable journey through life, I needed adequate rest, but I didn't know how to love my body.

In a rapidly changing world
Advice for the anxious you
“Let’s start by learning how to love ourselves.”

Now that I teach running, I've met many people who, like myself, just keep running forward without thinking, spending their days feeling anxious.
And I emphasize to them first.


“You have to learn to love your body and move forward.”

The point is that if you want to achieve success and develop a strong mind, you must start with the most basic thing: loving your body.
A moderate amount of comparison and anxiety can be a positive stimulus and help us move forward, but if it becomes excessive, we become exhausted and fall away.
He says that running is a great way to achieve this balance, and he spares no effort in providing practical examples and wise advice from his own experience on how to achieve balance in life.
The secret to changing a sensitive and timid person, the reason why a middle-aged woman suffering from depression was able to change, the secret to changing a person who was laid off from work and gained over 100 kg, the son who now runs with his father on the road he used to drive to and from to treat childhood cancer and reawakens the love of family, etc. These personal growth stories are so touching that it is difficult to read them without tears.


Furthermore, it is packed with how the exercise of running can help us plant wisdom in our lives, such as the attitude of a leader learned through running, the reason why elementary school children were able to build self-esteem by running voluntarily, the wisdom of relationships that points out that human relationships need fast and slow intervals like interval running, and how to spread a warm aura of accomplishment throughout the entire family.
We've created a separate section to answer the most frequently asked questions from runners, and we've also included practical tips.
As a special appendix to the book, the 'Running Habit Note' is provided so that readers can have their own running journal, so they can write down what they read in the book, create their own notes, and put it into practice.


We live in an age of much comparison and competition.
In these times when we are so busy trying to look better at work and in our relationships, what we need is not comfort or self-hypnosis, but a mindset and attitude that allows us to physically confront our limitations and deeply reflect on our inner selves.
Running doesn't solve the problem.
But, crucially, the mindset and attitude towards the problem clearly change.
This book will serve as a solid guide for you to realize the precious value of life that must never be lost and to shine on your own path with all your heart and soul.