Running is a central motif and serves many functions in the text. Running develops the themes of the lasting effects of childhood trauma, as well as the importance of trusting in yourself and others. Patty runs for her family: for her parents who can no longer run, and for her younger sister, who asked her to promise that she would never lose her legs like their mother. Patty also uses running to escape her problems and the adult burdens she has taken on after the traumas of her childhood.

Though Patty loves running, throughout the text it seems that running is not necessarily something that Patty does for herself. She enjoys it, and even feels that it is necessary, but it isn’t until the end of the book that she feels she really connects to running outside of the context of honoring her family or avoiding her problems. Patty reflects on Frida Kahlo’s childhood and how she used sports to develop her injured leg and her confidence: “That’s kinda what running was to me. A way to shut people up. A way to…I guess, sometimes even shut myself up. Just turn it all off.