SimpleSoleProject

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.

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Random images I need to get off my desktop.

I have had the privilege the last ten years of my life to be able to work with the cross country team at the high school I teach at.  Getting to interact with these young people in an environment that is NOT in a classroom and as intimate and raw as a sport like running is, and has been, an experience that I will treasure no matter where my life takes me.

During that decade runners have come through our program that range from student-athletes with special needs to state champions. Kids who improved from 30 minutes in a 5k to 19 minutes.  Kids who became slower over their years on the team.  Kids who found a niché for themselves in the high school environment.  Kids who learned they could do something that most people choose not to do and maybe they themselves didn’t think they could do.

But after reading some local and national interviews and posts, there is a common theme about those kids above.  These local and national “running figures”, some call themselves coaches used the word “I” a lot.  “I” coached them, “I” discovered them, “I” this and “I” that.  They, the coach, are taking credit for performances.  That is bull crap.  “I” did not improve my grades enough to be eligible.  “I” did not struggle through 8 to 9 minute miles.  “I” did not put that surge in at the 3k mark to try and take the lead.

Those are all the efforts of the individual.  I, the coach, cannot do any one of those things for them.  They have to choose to do so.  That is a beauty of running.  IT. COMES. DOWN. TO. YOU.  You shoulder the disappointment of a poorly run race.  You get the satisfaction of a PR.  Sure, friends and family and coaches get to share in that.  But really, the result is a product of what you have put in.  Only a coach who feels they have something prove to the world would for a second say they caused such and such to happen to one of the athletes they get to work with.  Coaches are a small part of a much bigger effort on the part of the runner.  As important as we are in the development of runners old and new, we need to remember that we can’t run the race for them.

It seems that running finds its way into the fabric of many parts of our lives.  In this case one of my favorite cartoons, THE OATMEAL.  Enjoy this new take on why people run.

Jim Craig of Angry Cow Adventures ordered up some grade A August weather for this morning’s Angry Cow Trail Run at Rock Creek Station Historical Area just east of Fairbury.  With race distances of 2 and 5 miles, a half-marathon+, and a 33 mile bout with ridiculousness.  This little gem of the Nebraska Game and Parks rec areas was never on my radar until Jim used his awesome trail race management skills to set up a pretty sweet 5.8ish mile loop through the park and some adjacent private land.  Why people would drive hours to other states to run when there are places like this right at home escapes me.

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Fast.  One of my favorite four letter words of any rating.  It seems that a lot of runners shy away from using that adjective or the various versions that exist of it (faster, fastest, getting faster, you get the idea).  Don’t know why.  Getting faster is kind of the point of running, or at least one of the main points.

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