The more trips around El Sol, the more you are exposed to the vastness of humanity, the more you understand just how diverse we are. Some 2019 observations germane to the sport we love.
We are all Runners. Not all of us are Racers. This is perhaps the most significant generational shift in our sport. Try and imagine a time when Racers Were The Only Runners. In the 50s and 60s and 70s and into the early 80s. You were In It To Win It.
In the mid 80s brilliant fundraisers figured out how to co-opt our sport for their particular charities. Not saying it is wrong but it has reshaped our sport completely. (Won’t throw in the towel and say irreversibly.) Hubris allows me a claim of expertise on this subject. Founded on nearly four decades of advocating, founding, fighting, losing, and winning.
I’ve been buoyed recently by a trend though. More runners are returning to the very heart of our sport. Training with determination. Trying to challenge themselves to run to Their Potential. Relative talent having no bearing on the results. What matters most is that they give their all. Achieving personal pinnacles and satisfaction that can only come from dedication and suffering and courage. The essence of our sport.
It is a small percentage, but just as assuredly the numbers are increasing. You don’t have to run a 6 minute mile to run to your potential. If you are acquitting your daily workouts with honesty, feel that you have given your all, you too are In It To Win It.
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