In Defense of Running

Usually I try to post a lengthy story about something really cool that happened to me in regards to running. Heck, maybe I’ll even throw in some imagery from time to time using words that I probably obfuscate because I don’t actually know what they mean. That’s not the case here; the point of this writing is to explain what I’ve learned about running from this past year of teaching and living in general.

Nothing here in the US makes our problem as evident as the news cycle. With 24-hour news available on TV, internet, or radio, media outlets are always looking for ways to boost ratings with sensational headlines and ‘breaking news’. They play a story, analyze the crap out of it until the effect is rendered useless, and then they bring up the next big story. They’ll do this on repeat all day and all night. We are inundated with headlines to keep up with all the fast-moving news around us. I was watching new episodes of Spongebob Squarepants last night, and during the commercials I had to shut the TV off because everything was moving so fast and cutting in and out so quickly that I couldn’t even follow what was going on!

We wonder why kids can’t focus, but social media, internet, radio, and TV all move so fast that there’s no time to dwell on and think about anything. Here’s a question for you: how often do you read an entire article or news story? Or even better: how often do you read the comments before clicking on an article? Don’t judge a book by its cover, indeed.

In education the big push is multi-step projects or activities that can keep the kids engaged and make it real-world for them. We have largely discarded the lecture for its simplistic, boring, un-engaging, teacher-oriented format that doesn’t give students the chance to develop some brain sweat. We want to use the Socratic Method of responding to student’s questions with questions, but forget that Socrates had highly motivated students that were there to learn; they didn’t put their head down, complain about working on math problems, or whine about having to be there in the first place.

It sounds cliché, but the more I look and look around me, the more it becomes evident that many young people truly live in an instant gratification world. If students don’t get the concept right away, they give up. If students don’t get their graded assignments back the next day, they whine. If the same news story is headlining for two days straight, we lose interest. Our food is packaged for quick heating, not baking or cooking. We have convenience stores and super-stores so you don’t have to waste any time shopping at different places. Even Christian worship is turning that way, with professional praise bands that are more interested in giving you a weekly shot of ‘Holy Spirit’ instead of long-term spiritual growth.

Distance running isn’t like that.

You can run hard every day for a few weeks and your fitness will improve substantially, but you’ll probably also end up burned out and injured (many people do this, and many people are also injured). People come into clinics with all sorts of running injuries and the question usually ends up at: “How can I fix this injury ASAP so I can get running again?” instead of “What long-term steps should I take to avoid injuries like this?” Our shoes get more and more cushion-ey until you end up with Hokas, which is like running with a mattress on each foot. We have kinesio-tape, anti-inflammatory pills, inhalers, L-cartinine (I see you NOP- y’all guilty of this too), amazing recovery drinks, super foods, specialized shoes, expensive dri-fit clothing, running socks, belts to hold gel packs, armbands for our iPods, specialized running headphones, music and entertainment at road races, finishers medals- need I go on? Ok, I will.

You can find workout regimens out there that promise ‘couch to 5k’ or ‘couch to marathon’ in twelve weeks, like that’s actually the way to do it. I’ve got news for you- finishing a 5k is not a big deal. Finishing a 10k is not a big deal. And when you look at human anatomy and how we are literally designed to be long-distance runners and travelers (in fact, some of the most efficient long-distance beings in the animal kingdom), finishing a half-marathon is not that big of a deal either.

That’s why I love real, raw running. It’s the most natural sport a human can take part in, and there’s no shortcuts. You want to run fast? Get outside every day and run. There is no substitute for hard work. There is no instant gratification. There is only this: if you want to run long distances better, then you have to run long distances more. No amount of technology will get you there.

Just ask Eliud Kipchoge. He ran 2:00.25 for the full marathon, and while he had pacing and drafting help, he worked his butt off in that race. We saw the most talented distance runner on the planet get pushed to his absolute limit, and it was awe-inspiring. He believed in himself and pushed his body every day to get to where he wanted to be. There were no short-cuts, even though Nike tried to give him every advantage possible- he still had to put in the work. I mean, there were two other guys that had access to all the same technology and didn’t even make it half as far as Kipchoge did, and one of them is the world record holder in the half marathon! There is no substitute for hard work.

So from what I’ve seen as a teacher, I don’t know if I’d make a good high school coach or not. I’d want to push kids and get talent out of them, not give them an excuse to have a fun sport while getting in shape for another, ‘better’ sport. I wouldn’t be afraid to tell a student athlete when they didn’t have a good race or aren’t putting in effort, but that’s how kids end up quitting. I’ve seen it as a teacher- students want only to be told that they are doing a great job, no matter what. But we all have to hear hard lessons sometimes. There’s nobody I’m more thankful for than my amazing fiancée, Ingrid, because she never lets me settle. In every aspect of life, she helps me become better and better, and some days it’s hard because we might disagree. But in the end, she’s right ;)

I don’t know if this post comes off as a vent or straight-up offensive and insensitive, but I want to keep distance running pure. Real distance running will not cave into instant gratification- I won’t let it. And I hope you won’t either. Never take shortcuts and always give it all you got. I can personally promise you that there are few things better than making intense sacrifices for months, only to have it all finally pay off in a good race or run. Allow others to let you grow and help you succeed by pointing out how you can be better. And no, not everybody is winner, and nobody promises you success. But if have to be told you’re a winner anyway, maybe you need to think about why you’re doing it in the first place.