Thoughts on Running
I am constantly amazed by fact that runners come in all shapes, sizes and ages.
Today I was chatting with a lady about the morning sunshine we were blessed with. I mentioned that I am hopeful to squeeze in some runs in the moments that it is not raining this fall. She laughed at me and told me to live in Western Washington is to get rained on and I will either embrace running in the rain or only run a few days out of the year.
She then went on to explain that while she was training for her marathon last year she ran all winter and just got used to running soaking wet.
What? SHE ran a marathon recently?
I know, I know, it was a judgmental thought and I confess my lameness and request forgiveness. Enough about my faults...
What surprised me about her recent running of the marathon is that looking at her, I wouldn't classify her as "fit". I actually would say a little overweight and I wouldn't even guess she worked out regularly let alone runs marathons, if I were forced to utter my inner opinion out-loud.
If you haven't had the opportunity to watch a marathon, I encourage you to find the time to swing by and watch these amazing athletes. We watched the Honolulu marathon years ago and saw the most incredible finishes. There was a man who ran in a full kimono to include those wooden platform shoes, someone ran barefoot, someone looked like he was 150 years old, there were short people, tall people, ridiculously skinny people, strong people, chubby people and every other type of body represented at the finish line. Some ran as teams, some alone or with another person, some were strong, others struggled in their finish but they did it, all 26.2 miles.
After my race, I met up with friends and family and then we all walked over to a restaurant for dinner. We ate dinner and were walking back toward the train to head home when I saw a lone woman running in the dark. The support booths were gone, the street blockades were being torn down, it was dark and nobody was cheering on the sides of the road, yet one runner remained on the path. She was older, a little larger, and she looked like she was struggling. My guess is that it must have taken her about 4 hours to run the half marathon. She had on a head-lamp so I suspect that she knew she would be running in the dark, perhaps she knew she would be running alone. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw her. Despite the fact that she was running a long slow race, alone and in the dark she was finishing her race! That is more impressive to me than the guy who finished first.
When it comes to running, it doesn't matter what type of body we have. Its just one of those things that any body can do and can do well. It is about putting one foot in front of the other and going for it. It is about endurance, determination, drive, and perhaps sheer will. It may be harder for some than others but with training and commitment it can be done. Not just to run, but run far, run hard, run fast, and run with great success.
The beauty of running is that it doesn't matter who you are, where you have come from or what you look like, when you put on the running shoes you run your own race with the strengths and weaknesses that you have been given. Each person's race and prize might be as different as the bodies they are running in, but that is what makes it exciting. I can see why Paul used running a race as a metaphor for our lives, it fits so perfectly. We show up at the start and finish line at different times, we look different, we have different strengths and we have different methods of running but we are each called to run our own race and do it in a way to reach the prize.
Today I was chatting with a lady about the morning sunshine we were blessed with. I mentioned that I am hopeful to squeeze in some runs in the moments that it is not raining this fall. She laughed at me and told me to live in Western Washington is to get rained on and I will either embrace running in the rain or only run a few days out of the year.
She then went on to explain that while she was training for her marathon last year she ran all winter and just got used to running soaking wet.
What? SHE ran a marathon recently?
I know, I know, it was a judgmental thought and I confess my lameness and request forgiveness. Enough about my faults...
What surprised me about her recent running of the marathon is that looking at her, I wouldn't classify her as "fit". I actually would say a little overweight and I wouldn't even guess she worked out regularly let alone runs marathons, if I were forced to utter my inner opinion out-loud.
If you haven't had the opportunity to watch a marathon, I encourage you to find the time to swing by and watch these amazing athletes. We watched the Honolulu marathon years ago and saw the most incredible finishes. There was a man who ran in a full kimono to include those wooden platform shoes, someone ran barefoot, someone looked like he was 150 years old, there were short people, tall people, ridiculously skinny people, strong people, chubby people and every other type of body represented at the finish line. Some ran as teams, some alone or with another person, some were strong, others struggled in their finish but they did it, all 26.2 miles.
After my race, I met up with friends and family and then we all walked over to a restaurant for dinner. We ate dinner and were walking back toward the train to head home when I saw a lone woman running in the dark. The support booths were gone, the street blockades were being torn down, it was dark and nobody was cheering on the sides of the road, yet one runner remained on the path. She was older, a little larger, and she looked like she was struggling. My guess is that it must have taken her about 4 hours to run the half marathon. She had on a head-lamp so I suspect that she knew she would be running in the dark, perhaps she knew she would be running alone. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw her. Despite the fact that she was running a long slow race, alone and in the dark she was finishing her race! That is more impressive to me than the guy who finished first.
When it comes to running, it doesn't matter what type of body we have. Its just one of those things that any body can do and can do well. It is about putting one foot in front of the other and going for it. It is about endurance, determination, drive, and perhaps sheer will. It may be harder for some than others but with training and commitment it can be done. Not just to run, but run far, run hard, run fast, and run with great success.
The beauty of running is that it doesn't matter who you are, where you have come from or what you look like, when you put on the running shoes you run your own race with the strengths and weaknesses that you have been given. Each person's race and prize might be as different as the bodies they are running in, but that is what makes it exciting. I can see why Paul used running a race as a metaphor for our lives, it fits so perfectly. We show up at the start and finish line at different times, we look different, we have different strengths and we have different methods of running but we are each called to run our own race and do it in a way to reach the prize.
Comments
2. Was just watching the iron man finishers the other day- pretty crazy stuff there as well. One man ran and biked in his firefighter gear (held off on the swimming part) the whole time and two women -60yrs old and bff's -finished together. Love that stuff!