Before I get into this post I just want to give a big shoutout to a couple of former North Dakota high school runners who have just in the last couple of days ran some impressive college times.
Cody Christ runs for MSUM. He's originally from Dazey, ND and competed for Barnes County North in high school. At the Mt. SAC Relays this weekend he ran the 10k in 30:05, breaking the school record at MSUM.
Alissa Mears also runs for MSUM. She's originally from West Fargo, ND, and competed for West Fargo High School. At the Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Invitational she ran the 800 in 2:11.47, another impressive time!
But I digress. On to the post.
With each passing day I become more and more in-tune with the kind of runners who truly inspire me. Contrary to what people may find to be inspirational to them in athletics, for me it isn't the fastest athletes. Mo Farah's double Olympic gold doesn't inspire me like this does. Seeing the many dozen sub-4 miles run in the US this last winter doesn't inspire me like this does. Hearing of people logging in 100+ mile weeks doesn't inspire me like this does. It can't. No, this runner was the complete opposite of these stories.
I would like to introduce a guy named Alex Krieg. You may not know him because he doesn't run for a team in college, but he did run in high school. I raced him quite a bit, being that we were in the same conference and a mere 30 minutes separated our respective schools. At many meets I would run the 3200 and he would as well. Our similarities would diverge from there, because we raced differently. I would lap him. Multiple times. At multiple meets. He was the runner trying to go under 12 minutes and I was trying to go under 9:45. I thought nothing of it then- it was simply racing. Now I look back and some things really stand out to me.
I don't know if any of you have lapped somebody or have been lapped by somebody in a race before, but it can be either humbling or rejuvenating (if you detect bias, be assured that I have been lapped before too). I distinctly recall a meet at West Fargo where I was lapping Alex, and he cheered for me. He actually audibly wished for me to race well. I WAS LAPPING HIM. And all he could do was wish me well. Before races Alex would come up to me, shake my hand, and say "Good luck Peterson" every time. I specifically remember a time where he followed that up with "I wonder how many times you will lap me today haha"...
I remember that. His selflessness. His joy for running, even when not expecting to win. His kindness.
I guess that I haven't been in too many situations like his, and that's why it may be hard for me to understand (I'm not being as selfish as I'm sure this post sounds- I promise), but I spent some time trying to figure out why I could remember those little situations, whereas I can't remember much else about the race. This year when I went to meets that had literally every track program in the Midwest in attendance, I figured it out- running can be fun! If there are 150 people in an event, 1 person wins, a few are likely close to that person, and then the other 130+ people are left in the results. That's reality. The people at the bottom of those 130 are the people who inspire me: they keep going even though they know they won't win.
Let me explain further. Distance running isn't easy. You don't just show up and start running the 2 mile or the 5k. Distance running gets a bad rap. Why run 8 laps around a track when you can run 1? It seems so much easier! I ask myself sometimes if people in the far back of distance races ask themselves the same question: wouldn't a 100 be easier? I don't claim to know their thoughts, but what I do know is that they stick with it. They run the race. They get the sympathy clap. They get ushered off the track quickly so the next race can start. They are down the list in the results where people don't scan as thoroughly. But they stay with it.
That's how Alex inspired me now in college. I realized that he had a drive. He knew he wasn't going to win, but not only did he stick with it, but he encouraged others! It reminded me of a time a few years back when I ran the 10k at the Fargo Marathon. I had been injured all spring during track (big surprise right?) and I decided to run this race before running (pun intended) off to Bible Camp for the summer. Coming in on only easy runs, I stupidly went out in a 4:50 first mile and struggled home to a dismal 35:00. I was ashamed. But I took 5th. Out of 7000 people. And during the second half of the race I couldn't believe what people did. I was passing by mile 4 and the enormous mass of people was passing by mile 2, filling up the entire street as far as I could see. I had nobody around me. People started cheering me on! They had no idea who I was or how fast I was running, but they cheered me on. It blew my mind.
That's why you inspire me Alex. You blew my mind with your passion. And if you get a chance to read this, I thank you for giving me and others a reason to tell people to keep going- even when the going gets tough.
To everybody: cheer people on- even if it's uncomfortable. I really can't put into words what it can mean for a person.
Have a Great Day!
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