Running Forward

'What I talk about when I talk about running', 'born to run' and 'why we run' are some of the books i've read pertaining to running. It's an interesting topic, and requires a look within and at your own experiences to understand what it's all about.

In Murukami's book, he mostly talks about his own experiences with running, his history, his reasons for doing it and the thought process when you're involved in one of these things. Born to run talks about the history of running, the ability all people have in it and the science of how it all works together to mean that we are indeed born to run. Finally, Robin Harvie's book 'Why we run' talks about the psychological approach to running, the spirituality of it, the obsession some have through it and his journey towards ultra-marathon running linked directly with past memories.

My story of running goes back to when I was two or three years old; running between rooms at full speed to cause mischief about the house. I was always okay at running, but never focused enough to become anything more than good. When I was in school, during running competitions I always came in second behind my competitive rival 'Stephen Ogborn'. In High school I never really competed, but did some cross country races. In university, apart from an odd few miles here and there I didn't go for running – partially because I was lean enough already, and so to put on weight I needed to sacrifice exercises which would just burn calories and not build mass. Following uni I did a charity run of 50 miles to gather funds so I could go overseas. Overseas I got back into running as a way of keeping some level of fitness with all the drinking as well as working on myself in a more positive way. I ran 3 times a week and did a similar route most times along the river. This lead me to get connected with people and opted to compete in some running competitions in the country of Korea. I did two 200 meter races and a 10k, and won them all! This goes to show, that despite not really putting in much time in to running, I seem to fair reasonably well to those who put in a lot more than me.

I find running difficult, and I think that this is likely the case for most people on the edge of their running comfort. I don't like to take my time and have always ran on the basis of short but intense. There are those who go slow and far, but with all my efforts, short and sweet have been at the basis of my philosophy. Like going in the gym, it's not about how much time you spend in one, it's about how much weight you move around and as fast as you can. Maybe this attitude is not always the best, for I lack any of the meditative qualities you can receive when pace running; the therapeutic jolting along a landscape, feeling the movement of your body, the wind in the air and the consciousness of your direct power towards a form of actuation. With running, it encompasses everything of yourself to move along like that, and to command your vessel at will to go along with it beyond comfort can be a very empowering thing. This command of will is the main part of why people like to run, and the other is mostly competition. The competition between others as well as yourself. You compete with yourself all the time, and it's about improving on what was before and feeling like a failure if that's not realised.

More than the empowering feeling of control and succeeding in competition, it's about an emotional connection too. It's not about trying to avoid pain, pain is inevitable when you're pushing your self and your body. But it's about realising that pain and accepting it as part of yourself. There is a certain romance in pain as pleasure, but it isn't in direct form, but in the fact that your will is stronger than that pain. And it is through that, that you really thrive as a runner.

We are always looking for ideals, though, they really don't exist. So, with that, put on your running shoes, your play list and head out the door. The miles are there before you, they're yours to take.