Someone I work with told me that they didn’t like running last week. They explained that it was torture and excruciatingly boring. It took me a few seconds to understand that they were talking about running on a *treadmill*. I explained that running outside was a completely different experience.
It got me thinking about how many people never start running outside because the experience on the dreadmill just sucked the life out of them. If they only knew how different running outside is. Running is not torture. Sure… there is some discomfort… sometimes… maybe for a few weeks when you start, or on a really long run, but for the most part it is pleasant and time flies. The hum that vibrates through your body after you stop running is heavenly... every muscle thanking you for playing with them like a childhood toy.
And yes… there is something very basic and simple about running that even kids understand. My son told me last week that he likes running… and when he meets someone new at school they measure each other up by a sprint across the school yard. That funny thing is… I remember just that… we moved and on my first day at my new school… first recess a classmate comes up and asks… ‘Hi my name is David… do you want to race?’ And off we went like wild horses.
Running is that basic and simple. It doesn’t take a PhD to put one foot in front of the other. Yes we may not need to run for transportation anymore… but a runners heart looks at the hill way over yonder and thinks… ‘I could run there.’
I don’t have any particular running goals right now. That may change tomorrow… I may be heading somewhere I just don’t understand yet. There is a quote from the movie Made in Heaven that goes something like, ‘if you don’t know where you are going, it don’t matter what road you take.’ I’m on that road right now.
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