Run Right Past Impostor Syndrome

GROWING up, I played a multitude of ball sports, and even dabbled in fencing; but I always stayed away from running.

- Aly Ellis

Other kids were faster than me, so I left running to them. It was only when I moved cities in my early 30s that I discovered the joy of a 5K, and started to lace up regularly.

A decade later, I’m still at it. By now I've run nearly 100 races, including five marathons. I work as an editor at the world’s best running magazine, and I co-host The Amazing Runner’s World Show with RW US Runner-in-Chief Jeff Dengate. Yet some days I still feel like a fraud.

As I look around my office, filled with runners who are faster than me, it’s hard not to compare myself with them. Some of my co-workers have been running since primary school. Some ran on university teams. Several have won races!

And then there’s me.