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 on this Earth

When we walk like (we are running), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth.
Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

While this quote is about walking, I like to read it with regards to running as well, replacing 'walk' with 'run'. This is profound for how we run - being aware of our thoughts, intentions, our body, our placement of our feet on the earth. It all matters.

Going out to kiss the earth.

Surprise

I heard it last night – drops of moisture
as I dozed off to REM land.

On waking, my legs ached to moved

time for a run.

Temperature – colder than it’s been

hat and gloves, not worn in weeks.

Opening the door, standing at the threshold

moisture falls from the sky.

Hesitation, doubt, questioning

do I want to go out there?

A step into it

not rain, not snow, dry and fresh.

A quick change

something to deal with damp.

Off I go

with my warmup steps.

Whitish grey clouds redefine the horizon

a smaller bubble of a world today.

White specks falling, blowing

not rain, not quite snow, beautiful.

Legs gliding, lungs offering its own mist

arms in a rhythm, feet gracing the earth.

An internal peace, a playful smile

gratitude flows, a deep stillness pervades.

Back home, watch stopped

the end of another striking run.

What a way to begin a new day.

Micah True

We are the messengers, fueled by the message we carry. When the message is of truth, peace, beauty and love, we will always have the strength to find our way home, on this, our beautiful Mother Earth".
~Micah True

True recently passed away on a run near Gila, New Mexico. He was a beloved and respected member of the ultrarunning community. He will surely be missed.

We Are the Show

Steve Prefontaine, often called Pre, was one of America’s top runners in the mid-70s. He had a style all his own – brash, gutsy, outspoken. Unfortunately he died in a car crash at 24 – the world will never know what he might have been able to do. Even in his short career he changed running.

One of Pre’s quote is this: “Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else.
It's being creative." If you’re ever seen footage of Pre racing, it’s true.

I’ve heard Michael Jordan, one of the world’s greatest basketball players ever, say something similar. That when we walks out onto a court, into a stadium, one of the things he wants to do is play as well and as hard as he can. There might be one person in the stadium whose only change to see him play was that day, and he wanted them to see what basketball could be like.

Jordan and Pre knew their talent and skills. They weren’t playing to show off their skills, they were playing to put on a show. Not a show of fancy, but of themselves, of their sport; playing to use all their skills and hours of practice to make art. When athletes like this play in this way is often when we’re most inspired and Jordan and Pre are two extraordinary examples of this.

Most of us will never have the audience or spotlight professional athletes do, yet our running can be just as much art and inspiration as Jordan or Pre. Our audience might be kids, or co-workers, or a spectator who is inspired by our efforts. I remember driving on a freeway and seeing a stream of women walking on a nearby road, it was the 3-Day walk for the Cure. I was moved by the effort these women were making, I’m sure most of them stretching themselves to walk 60 miles in 3 days. Jordan and Pre made a conscious choice of how to play. We can make a similar choice or not, but regardless what we do as athletes is often inspiring. It’s our show.

Running with Rumi

Friend, our closeness is this:
anywhere you put your feet, feel me
in the firmness under you.

- Rumi