Most runners do this in the literal sense.  They wear and carry as little as the race or run will allow.  This is one of the pure, stylistic elements of the sport that is so greatly appealing.  With the exception of changes in technology, the outfits that racers wear have not changed THAT much in a very long time. It is you.  As much as the apparel or shoe companies would love to have a person believe that wearing Brand X will lead you to a PR, it is really a matter of the work you put into that goal (I will grant the mental aspect of feeling/looking good in a particular pair of shorts or shoes or what have you).  BUT, it is still you doing the movement.

But in a more metaphorical sense, runners are stripped down almost more than any other sport. For the majority of our race courses and practices and events, there is no barrier between us and non-racers.  There is very little in the way of uniform to disguise our emotions, other than a pair of sunglasses on occasion.  We are one of the few sports literally anyone can participate in, no equipment required if you so choose.  Think about it, most sports you sit in the stands, you watch, you are not part of the experience.  Even in swimming, maybe the most stripped down of all sports, athletes are in the water.  Heaven forbid a fan try to get close to a golfer.

On the same front, running is all about support.  I have never had someone boo me in running and tell me to slow down, regardless of the jersey I am wearing.  I have run races where there were 26 miles of people cheering me on for no other reason than that they want to cheer someone on because that person is doing something that seems ridiculous, or heroic, or inspirational, or silly, or down right pointless.  That is what makes running so humbling.

There comes a point in every single race where it gets really, really hard.  In the mile it is the 3rd lap.  In the marathon it is (usually) mile 21 or so.  But at some point the effort begins to take its toll on body, mind, and spirit.  Hopefully, your training can get you through this.  On occasion though, some things are too much for a person.  You see this in all races at all points of the pack.  Leaders to trailers, elites to rookies, the look is in their face.  Some might call it desperation.  Others might go with panic.  Experienced folks might chip in the adjective of resignation.  It is a horrible, horrible feeling regardless of the distance run (granted, the feeling lasts much longer in a marathon than an 8k, but I figured I could leave this part out.  Which I just did not do).

What makes this feeling so horrible?  Is it the pain being put to your body or mind?  I am sure that is some of it.  Though I think the human capacity for suffering is an incredible thing and is actually quite relative.  Is it the feeling of letting yourself down?  The early mornings, the sacrificed beers and desserts, the time spent leading up to what you consider to be a big race all weigh on you heavily in those “dark” times.  Again, we aren’t as hard on ourselves as we make it out to be. Yeah, it sucks that we are having a bad race, but you are probably a better person having trained for that event.  Might it be letting down the people who supported us along the way?  Family, friends, training partners, co-workers, strangers, anyone who will listen to you drone on about repeats or carb loading or whatever inane things runners talk about when they get together.  Letting them down hurts me worse than letting myself down.  So what is it?

When you go bad in a race, or even when you are just plain hurting during a good race, that is as simple as you get.  It is you, just trying to get from A to B as fast as you can manage.  It might be a sprint, or walk, or a crawl.  Those times when you are “out there”, that is you stripped down as a human being.  Take away the make-up, clothing, tuned up Facebook pages, and the image that humans typically try to promote.   Running will highlight every weakness you have be it physical, mental, or spiritual and none of that matters for shit.  When that happens there is nothing you can do about it and anyone who is around to see it, bears witness to the occasion.  It is a wonderfully horrible thing to have happen to a person.  It is the closest many of us come to just trying to survive.  People see you at what might be one of your weakest moments in your life.  It is then that every runner is united with every other runner and spectator that has ever experienced this. We are stripped down to what we are, and what we are as runners is great.