Why Run??

For those that don't know, I belong to a group called Runner's In Touch. We raise money for charities, currently it is the Touched by Cancer Foundation based here in Kansas City. Through that group our coach (Koach Karl) will sometimes ask a question. He might have us read or listen to something first and then we "discuss" it via email. This week he asked "Why do we do endurance events?" So I'm going to share part of my answer with you.

I grew up at a county lake and running to me was (and still is) watching the heron glide over the water, the morning sun as it peeks through the trees and glistens on the lake. It’s the deer at dawn and dusk as they emerge to feed on the farmer’s corn. The changing of the seasons in the park. Running for me was never the punishment in school that kids perceive it to be. I never hated it.

For me the benefits begin to happen when I get to the higher mileage. Not the benefits of being “healthier” but the peace. Healthier is just a side effect. I don’t get comfortable running until somewhere around 4 or 5 miles and then find the calm when I start to get upwards of 15 or more. The longer my run the longer the calm that comes from it lasts. Also, I have about the worst case of ADD that a person can have! Running keeps my body busy so my mind has time to be still!

Somewhere in all of this becomes the challenge to see how far one can go – to test the limits of our humanness. I listen to friends, family and the kids in my classes as they say “I could never do that” or “I can’t do that” and I wonder what makes them believe it. If you know me, you know that I am full of quotes. One that I attribute much to is Arthur C Clarke’s “The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.” I wonder what has limited so many to their view of possible. I know that my view of possible had been limited to a marathon until life’s path introduced me to Koach who has used endurance runs (multi-day and ultra distance) as a means of raising money for and awareness to a charity.

I once had a conversation with Koach that went along the lines of “What makes one want to run farther – as running has done more for me than any amount of prayer or meditation.” The answer for me is what Koach said it was…Running gives each of us what we need when we need it. It allows me to find out what I’m made of and how I will react to the stress it provides. It has allowed me to find my demons and begin to face them.

A final thought:
“What you see and hear depends a great deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.” C. S. Lewis