---Robert Frost
 |
| Road up Mt. Evans |
I had the entire road to myself.
It's been closed for months as it's typically covered with 10 feet of snow by now.
Some say it's a great place to train for ultras and get away from it all.
I disagree.
I say it's a great place to train for ultras to get through it all.
In my experience, distance training, and LIFE, has not been about running AWAY.
But running THROUGH.
By running through the miles in the cold.
The dark.
And the wind,...
One acquires the strength to endure the trials OFF the trails.
The job loss.
The business failure.
The divorce.
Or finishing that degree at age 40 with two kids and a mortgage.
I think distance training also makes us rethink the notion of speed.
Or coming in first place.
The guy who finished the Leadville 100 dead last this year gets the same size buckle as all of the other 25+ hour finishers.
Can anyone honestly say this guy is any less of an athlete or overall badass because he came in last after running 100 miles at 10,000 feet?
I don't either.
Because some races are not about finishing first.
They are simply about finishing.
I have some students this semester that are going to school while managing lives that read like stories from the 10 o'clock news.
Neurologist appointments from the motorcycle wreck, the sibling killed by the drunk, and the voice message from the student at the ER requesting an extension on her writing assignment until she is released from the hospital from the head injuries she and her son sustained from the hand of an angry spouse.
These are not races about first place.
These are races about getting through.
And about finishing.
Many people are proud of the things they have accomplished.
I find I'm more impressed with the people who are proud of the things they have overcome.
I recently saw a quote on someone's whiteboard on LinkedIn that read:
"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always."
Wise words indeed.
Must be a distance runner.
AMJ
No comments:
Post a Comment