Real Running is not supposed to be Easy

REAL RUNNING IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY! by Jack Gray There is the beginning of a war raging in the running community. It began gradually; but it is gaining momentum on almost a daily basis. It is getting harder to ignore as the months go by. It began mostly as hype to sell certain programs and certain books, but more and more seem to be accepting the adverstising as fact. It centers on what is involved in real running. It is not necessary to push yourself. Time is not important. There is no need for speed. you should always be able to carry on a good conversation. Walk any time you want to. If you don't want to run today, then don't run. Just enjoy the scenery and the out-of-doors. Make every time you go out a time of fellowship and fun, then sit back and enjoy all these great benefits that will come flowing in. Part of this movement is very legitimate. It is an effort to motivate those who are not exercising at all. It is designed to get people off the couch and separated from a sedentary lifestyle. We applaud that effort. We are genuinely concerned about the obesity of children and the unhealthy lifestyle of many adults. We also fully agree that doing ANYTHING is far better than doing NOTHING. But, frankly, what some are trying to sell us is garbage! It is right up there with the ads that say that you can eat all you want...of anything you want...and still lose weight, with no exercise at all. Yet some continue to be gullible enough to expect great results with no real effort. Our society seems to be always looking for the quick-fix or a miracle cure. It is hard to accept that things jsut don't work that way. Real progress in any area requires some kind of effort. It is also contradictory to what real running is about. Real running is made up of sweat and pain and struggle. It involves going all-out and giving it your very best. It does NOT demand that you beat anybody! It is not mandated that you ever have to pick up an award. It doesn't even discourage some slow training runs, but it does require that at some point you be willing to test the limits. It involves accepting the mindset of being the best that YOU can be, and doing the best that YOU can do. It will not allow you to feel really good about yourslef when you know you have given less. Please understand that we are not opposed to slow runners. We delight in every single one who will participate. We realize that some near the back of the pack are putting forth just as much effort as the front runners are. We are proud of those who just go out and walk or job in the park. What we are opposing is expecting the benefits of running, without putting in the effort of training and dedication that real running requires. Running is such a grand experience. It can be delightful and thrilling. It can be compelling and addictive. BUT sometimes it just plain hurts! It is not designed to be easy. A marathoner told me years ago about how, during those last strugglin miles, you could hope you would be hit by a car...just so you could stop running! Admittedly, that sounds a little extreme, but it has a germ of truth embedded in it. Ours is a difficult sport, and it does not offer maximum results for minimum effort. Running is actually a tough, tough taskmaster. it will demand the best that is in you. It will allow you all the time you need for recovery, but it has no tolerance at all for laziness. It will compel you to reexamine your own excuses. It will kick you out the door, when you had rather stay home. It will force you to go on, when you desperately want to quit. It will not allow you to compromise or cut corners in your training, but it gives it's benefits in direct proportion to your efforts. Perhaps no other sport is so fair in giving it rewards...or so harsh in it's judgments. It lets you know quickly that it is no place for wimps. You have to be tough minded just to stay with it. Every one of us can improve.