Running 4 Your Life

A couple of nights ago, my running group had the end-of-the-season’s get together. End-of-the-season doesn’t mean we stop running or stop getting together. For a few weeks, we’ll suspend formal practice. But soon, we’ll be back out there together to begin our winter running groups. We’re all still running and training for something.

Our gathering was a time for people to share their success stories with the group and acknowledge those who helped them reach their goals.

• Amber shared with us her accomplishments and how she got through the rough patches and crossed the finish line of her marathon with the help of her new friend Chele.
• Joyce shared with us how she reached her goals in events she’d never done before.
• Paul shared funny stories of  going the “extra mile” and expressed gratitude to his running partners and coaches.
• Machelle shared her personal story of weight loss and getting on the path to health and wellness.
• Sue shared with us her personal story of how Donna, her running partner, literally saved her life.

This is just a sampling of the stories we shared. Everyone has a story. Every race has a story. And, people (especially runners and walkers) love to get together to tell their stories.

Six months ago, I knew only a handful of people in Boise. I had lunch with Steve, the “head” of a local running/walking group and offered to help coach. He didn’t know me at all, but he decided to take a chance on me and allowed me to join his other coaches in a successful program known for its dedicated, knowledgeable coaches.

Runners are welcoming folks. At our end-of-the-season gathering, I looked around at all my new friends - just since I had joined the group 6 months ago - and I was filled with gratitude.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the path with them very soon…and hearing more of their stories.

Throughout my running life, I’ve had the good fortune to run (and walk) with so many different people. There have been days when I was the one who had to do all the talking so that the others could focus on breathing. Other times, I was the one who needed to concentrate on breathing.

Over the past 13 years, running has brought me so many great friends - I can’t even begin to name them all. Some of us have moved to different places, but the friendships that we forged have withstood the distance. One thing is certain: We meet as strangers, but we become friends as we run and walk together.

I treasure my running partners - there is a mutual sharing of who we really are as we’re out there on the road together.  No cell phones. No emails to check. No distractions. No pretenses. No judgment. Just time spent with a friend on the road. What could be better?

So, what is it that bonds people together as they run or walk long miles?  Is it common interests? Common goals? Common challenges? Common pain?

If you have made good friends through your running or walking, I’m sure you understand this concept. I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or stories.

Last Sunday’s City of Trees Marathon could never have happened without the help of the many volunteers along the course. And, most volunteers are folks who are either athletes themselves or a family member of an athlete. Most likely, they have been in a race and on the receiving end of the service the volunteers provide.

Being a volunteer is also great way to watch a race. You get to see the dedication and determination of all the athletes - from the beginning to the end. Although all athletes appreciate the volunteers, it’s often those athletes at the back of the pack who need and appreciate the volunteers more than ever.

In my experience as a volunteer/supporter, I feel like the athletes give me more than I give to them. They inspire and motivate me, and I continue to be awed by their accomplishments.

My friends at Boise RunWalk had an aid station around mile 20 - generally a pretty tough point in the marathon. And, I can say with certainty that their cheerful encouragement helped many athletes push through this rough patch. Cheers to the mile 20 Boise RunWalk volunteers! You are the best!

My parents were philosophers. Not philosophers in the traditional sense of the word but probably in the same way that many of your parents were also. But we didn’t appreciate their wisdom until we got older when we realized that their simple teachings formed our values.

One of the things that my mama used to say was, “Everywhere you go, people are as nice to you as you are to them.” I’ve followed that value my whole life, and I hope that I’ve passed it on to my own kids. I have found this principle to be true everywhere I’ve ever been. (more…)

On September 13, three of my friends - Matt, Amber, and Chele - ran a marathon. Matt ran the Salmon Marathon (Salmon, Idaho); Amber and Chele ran the Timberline Trail Marathon (Mount Hood). For all of them, it was their 2nd marathon.

By all standards, these three runners would be considered novices - as is the case with any sport in which you have been competing for only a few years. But, the great thing about running - anywhere - is that we are part of a community of runners where it doesn’t matter if you have run 1 marathon or 41 marathons…if you run a 2:48 or a 5:48…you are a special and equal member of that community. And, runners everywhere support each other - fast or slow, old or young, novice or veteran.

Amber said, “It’s awesome how a group of runners can jump into conversations with each other so easily.” Chele said of running with Amber, “…to share it with a friend made it all the sweeter.” Matt met runners at the pre-race pasta party and ran with them the next day in the marathon. I talked with Matt the afternoon of the race, and he was on “Cloud 9.” Four days later, when I talked to him again, he was on the same cloud.

Runners often have an instant connection with each other. I’ve run races in which I was “with” the same runners for almost all of the 26.2 miles. You share a certain kinship with them - maybe because you know it’s as hard for them as it is for you - and you find yourself helping them get to the finish line because in a strange way, their success is also yours.

Running is technically a solitary sport. But it is the supportive running community that keeps us running. I’m so happy for Matt, Amber, and Chele that they had such wonderfully inspiring experiences. Running a marathon is hard, and it’s a monumental achievement. I am even more inspired every time one of my friends runs another marathon.

Matt, Amber, and Chele: Thanks for the inspiration!

Coach Joe Henderson said of Dick’s camp, “We come as strangers, and we leave as family.”

Pat Loebach, a friend of mine whom I met at the inaugural camp in 2003, said, “I came to came to be a better runner; I left a better person.”

This is what Dick’s camp is about. It is a running camp, but it’s not just about running. Sure, we practiced strides, ran hills, learned about lactate thresholds, and some even set PRs in Dick’s 1/2 marathon on Saturday. But we also made new friends and invited them to stay at our homes to run races in our cities. And, unlike offers that people often make when they say, “You’re welcome to come stay at my house,” we actually take each other up on their offers to visit.

It’s always good to go home after being gone for a week, but it’s also hard to leave camp. What makes it easier is that I know I will be talking to my new friends through email, phone calls, and meeting up with them again at races all over the world.

At camp this year, I gave a talk on “Running & Friendship,” and I enumerated the dozens of friends that I have made just through connections at Dick’s camp. I met Jan Seeley - without whom there would not be a Dick Beardsley Marathon Camp - at the Napa Valley Marathon expo in 1998.

So, to Jan, I say “Thank You” for making all these friendships happen. And now that we have completed yet another camp, I am so fortunate to add many new friends to my “list” of running friends.

Every September, a group of about 30 campers and 8 coaches get together for a week long running camp. Most people ask in wonder, “A running camp? You go on vacation for a week to run?” I usually answer, “It’s not just to run - we have seminars, roundtable discussions, some group runs, and a ton of fun. Ok, so we do run a 1/2 marathon at the end of the week.” That usually confirms to them that there are some really crazy folks out there.

In 2003, I went to Dick’s inaugural camp as a camper. After that, I started going as a coach. When you hear “marathon camp,” you might think that everyone there is an elite runner. Not the case. We have runners, walkers, people who have never run a marathon but want to, and people who have run 100s of marathons. We are all ages, all sizes, all abilities, all speeds, all walks of life. But the one thing we have in common is that we all love to run and to be around others who love to run.

We generally have about 30 campers, some of whom have been to camp before. Every year, we make new friends - real friends who meet in other places throughout the year to run races together, who open their houses to each other, and who truly “stay in touch.” Some of the returning campers come back for the primary reason of reuniting with their friends once a year.

Joe Henderson, one of the coaches at camp, said, “We come as strangers, and we leave as family.” So, you see, we do go to Dick’s camp to run, but it is much more than just a running camp…

Last night I read an article called “Chasing Happiness Together: Running and Aristotle’s Philosophy of Friendship.” It’s been a long long time since I read Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, and I should probably revisit it. According to Aristotle, everything we do, we do in pursuit of our ultimate goal - Happiness. And, “friendship” is a critical component of living a virtuous life and ultimately being truly happy.

Aristotle says that developing a friendship based on virtue requires time, familiarity, trust, mutual good will and mutual sacrifice. Running provides a perfect setting for developing friendships. (more…)

I’ve been writing blog posts for a few months now, but sometimes I like to double back and remind my readers what this whole “Running 4 Your Life” blog is all about.

My goal is to help motivate and inspire people to achieve their goals. If I can share a lesson that might help people somehow improve their physical, emotional, spiritual, or relationship health, then I am fulfilling my purpose.

In addition to lessons I’ve learned and reflections on experiences , I often offer practical suggestions on things like losing weight and dog training. We can never learn less - we can only learn more, so why not share what we know with other people?

I welcome and enjoy your comments - I learn things from you, too!

Everywhere you look, someone is talking about the “Law of Attraction.” Although the principles are ancient ideas, lots of people are discovering it for the first time. It’s actually exciting to observe the paradigm shift of such large numbers of people.

Last spring, I joined a local running group. When I first moved here, I was training for a marathon and following a pretty strict schedule. I wasn’t sure that my training would lend itself to group runs since I had to hit specific times in all my runs, including my long run - which is usually the run that groups run together. So, I waited to join a group, but I thought about it and planned to find the right fit. (more…)