On Saturday morning, we’ll reach one of the first waypoints of the sports year when the eighth annual Chill in the Hills 10K fills the streets of downtown Vicksburg with runners and walkers.

It’s the start of “running season” in Mississippi. The coming weeks and months will be filled with 10Ks and 5Ks, from the Run Thru History in March to the new Riverfest 5K and eventually the Over the River Run.

I love these events. They’re big deals in the community. You get to see a lot of people, have some fun and, most importantly for a sports writer, they’re finished early enough to put in a full day’s work and have a Saturday night off.

To those who are willing and able to compete in these races, I salute you. Running is a great way to stay in shape and make friends. It’s also not for me. I’ve just never grasped the appeal.

I love to walk. When my wife and I go on vacation, that’s pretty much all we do is walk around whatever city we’re visiting. Our personal record is crisscrossing Chicago for 13 miles one afternoon a few years ago.

I like to swim. At one point I was up to three or four 3,000-yard workouts a week and in my mid-30s was able to swim a 50-yard freestyle in 28 seconds.

But running?

Blech.

Running hurts. When I run, my knees and back ache and I can’t breathe right for hours afterward. Even relatively short distances kill me. Maybe it’s because I’m more of a sprinter — a slow sprinter, but a sprinter nonetheless — but I feel like I need a reason to run.

Playing a sport? Chasing the dog around the yard? Bear chasing you through the woods? All good reasons.

Running just to run? Not a good reason. Why not take your time, walk, and enjoy the scenery? Why zoom past it? What’s the rush?

That doesn’t even take into account the injuries. Plenty of runners have foot, leg and back injuries from pounding the pavement.

I suppose people enjoy running for the thrill of going fast. Maybe it’s the challenge. Bragging about rolling up more miles with your feet than most people do in their car has an appeal.

Just not to me. If that makes me weird, so be it. I’ll walk — heck, I might even mosey — on down the road.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at 601-619-7120, or via email at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com