Troy was a powerful city in the ancient world, located near the Dardanelles in what is now modern-day Turkey. Its position made it strategically valuable, sitting at the crossroads of major trade routes between Asia and Europe. Whoever controlled Troy controlled commerce, movement, and influence in the region. That geography is what made it important—and what made it worth fighting over.
Troy wasn’t destroyed once. It was destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed again, and rebuilt again. There aren’t one or two Troys. There are at least eight. Entire cities layered on top of each other.
Why would people keep rebuilding in the same place?
Because it was a good place for a city. The geography worked for defense, growth, and culture. Even after disaster—war, famine, collapse—people returned to the same ground and built again. The layers aren’t evidence of failure. They’re proof that something there was worth returning to.
Progress in running isn’t a straight line. You build fitness. You lose some. You build again. From the outside, it can look like you’re repeating yourself. But you’re not starting over. Each phase leaves something behind. Aerobic fitness. Muscle memory. Mental toughness. An understanding of your body. Those layers don’t disappear just because you had a setback.
Our running identities are layered too. The beginner who struggled. The runner who figured it out. The runner who got injured. The runner who came back. None of those versions vanish. They sit underneath the current one, supporting it.
When you return to running after time away, it can feel like you’re back at the beginning. You’re not. You’re rebuilding on familiar ground. Ground that’s already proven it can support you. Ancient cities weren’t rebuilt out of stubbornness. They were rebuilt because the foundation worked.
Best wishes on chasing your running goals,
George