Running as a Microcosm of Life

"When you think about it, the idea that running might teach you something about life shouldn’t be too shocking. In a fairly obvious sense, running is life made small. A run has a beginning and an end. There are obstacles to overcome, good days and bad days. You pass some people and get passed by others. There are tests and challenges, disappointments and achievements, days you feel you have nothing left to give and other days when you feel you can go forever… Running for me is a special activity. It brings value to my life while at the same time it teaches me how to value it…. Running makes me a better person. Running, for me, is transformative. I have learned self-discipline and patience from running. I have also learned how to compete with grace, and how to face hardships with optimism."

-Larry Shapiro, "Zen and the Art of Running"

Running to Kansas

I love running the mountain trails around Boulder, to gain elevation and be in the trees and dance on the rocks and over the roots.

I also thoroughly enjoy a run on the open space trails around Boulder as well – the Gunbarrel and White Rock trails, the Boulder Valley Ranch, some of Dowdy Draw, and especially Marshall Mesa. Marshall Mesa was the trail of choice this morning as I run the full loop.

One of the reasons I like running Marshall Mesa is that there are spots where the only thing around you is grassland. If you look west you’ll see the mountains, if you look south you may see the windmills of the National Renewable Energy Lab. But otherwise there are places with no civilization in view. It’s quite remarkable.

Many times when I’ve run this trail I feel open and energized in this wide open area – I love wide open areas. And the thought comes, I want to run to Kansas across the high prairie and grasslands of Eastern Colorado. When I get to Kansas, I imagine myself saying why stop, let’s run the farm fields and open space of a wide open Kansas all the way to Missouri.

It will probably never happen, but I love the thought.