The First Mile: How Jamal Booker Stopped Planning and Started Running

Jamal Booker had wanted to run a half marathon since he was 24. At 34, he still hadn't done a single training run. He had, however, built three spreadsheets, bought two pairs of shoes, downloaded four apps, and read approximately eleven thousand Reddit threads.

"I was the world's most prepared non-runner," he says.

The 5:47 a.m. that changed it

One Tuesday in June, he set an alarm for 5:45, laced his shoes, walked to the end of his suburban block, and jogged for exactly 90 seconds before his lungs revolted.

"It was pathetic. It was also the first time in a decade I'd done the actual thing instead of planning the actual thing."

The rules he made after that morning

- Never plan more than one day ahead. - The only stat that counts is: did you leave the house? - If you have to negotiate with yourself, you already know the answer.

Where he is now

Fourteen months later, Jamal has finished two half marathons and a 15K. But that's not the part he talks about.

"The part I talk about is that I finally stopped being a person who was going to. I don't miss him. He was exhausting."