Some people wake up and crave coffee. The first cup feels like the best feeling on earth.
That is how I feel about running.
I run almost every morning, usually 5K before I start my daily routine. I do it because it keeps me calm throughout the day. No phone, no headphones, no watch. Just my apartment key and a small running flashlight. Running early in the morning feels like meditation.
Over the last 10 years, I have run four full marathons, two half marathons, and two 50K trail races. My medals remind me that I did not change my life in one day. I changed it one morning at a time.
Ten years of running, from local races to marathons and trail runs.
Every medal represents one season of training, recovery, and learning.
This year, I signed up for the 2026 San Francisco Half Marathon because the full marathon was already sold out when I remembered to register. I also signed up for the Berkeley Half Marathon in November 2026.
Why running?
I started running in 2016 because I was struggling with sleep apnea and I did not know what else to do. At that time, sleeping five hours felt normal for me. I heard that running could help with sleep, so I started running.
I quit smoking and stopped drinking alcohol. I lost some weight and started going to the gym regularly.
Running started as a way to fix my sleep, but it became much bigger than that.
The Problem
Even after all of this, my sleep was still not where I wanted it to be.
I had quit smoking. I stopped drinking alcohol. I exercised. I ran every day. I ate better. I lost weight.
But most nights, I still slept only around five hours.
That was frustrating because running gave me the best feedback about my body. Every morning, I could feel how well I recovered the night before. If my sleep was bad, my run told me immediately.
Running became the best indicator of my sleep quality.
Melatonin
Because I still could not sleep well, I started taking melatonin every night before bed. I was taking 20 mg because it helped me fall asleep.
Then one night, I forgot to take it.
I slept almost eight hours.
I was shocked.
So I stopped taking melatonin. For the first three days, my sleep became messy again. But after the fourth day, it started improving. I was suddenly sleeping around six hours a night. For me, that was a huge milestone.
I still was not sleeping eight hours every night. Some nights were six or seven hours. Some nights were still five. But it was progress.
Caffeine
The next big change was caffeine.
I stopped drinking caffeine, and my sleep improved again. This time, I was able to sleep seven to eight hours almost every night.
That was a major change.
For years, I thought running was the main answer. Running helped my body, my mood, and my discipline. But caffeine was still affecting my sleep more than I wanted to admit.
Magnesium
Even after stopping caffeine, I still felt something was missing.
I could sleep longer, but I wanted deeper recovery. I wanted to wake up and feel it during my morning run.
So I tried magnesium.
I first tried magnesium oxide from Target, but it did not help much. When I increased the dose, I slept longer, but I also felt drowsy.
Then I switched to magnesium glycinate, 240 mg before bed.
For me, it worked. I started sleeping deeper and waking up feeling more recovered.
What Actually Helped Me
Looking back, my sleep improved in layers.
Running gave me discipline and calm. Quitting smoking removed one of the biggest bad habits from my life. Stopping alcohol helped my recovery. Losing weight helped my body. Going to the gym made me stronger. Stopping melatonin helped me reset. Stopping caffeine gave me longer sleep. Magnesium glycinate helped me sleep deeper.
No single habit fixed everything.
The improvement came from stacking small changes and listening to my body.
Final Thought
Sleep did not improve in one night. It took years of trying, failing, adjusting, and starting again the next morning.
Running taught me to keep showing up. Improving my sleep taught me to pay attention, change what was not working, and stay patient until I found a better way.
