Marathon envy
The Singapore Marathon is coming up in a few days and it's reminded me that I've always been envious of long-distance runners. I envy their tragic nobility. I think it comes from the fact that they run alone.
Have you ever looked at a picture of the starting pack of a marathon race? At first glance it looks like a dense crowd, rush-hour on the race track. But look at the face of every runner and you can sense an envelope of separateness around him. It's unlike any other sport.
It's not just that distance running is an individual sport. There are plenty of other individual sports and in all of them the athlete is intensely aware of his competitors. If you've watched middle-distance runners in action you'll know that even those guys run with their eyes open and their minds directed outwards at the pack sharing the track with them. But tell a guy he's got to start running and not stop for 42 kilometers and then some, and he starts shrinking into himself. What's going on here?
Some of it is probably an extended endorphin rush. I guess anyone would drift with half-glazed eyes and relaxed shoulders once their heart started pumping some of that feel-good stuff into their brain, and then kept it going for a few hours. And some of it is probably the loathsome sense of superiority that comes form knowing that you are leaner and meaner than the well-fed guy picking up after his dog on the sidewalk and looking at you thoughtfully while you glide past with your rhythmic footfall and easy breathing.
But I can put aside my resentment at my own lack of self-discipline and appreciate that there must be more. I can imagine what it might be like to be wrapped in a world inside yourself. A world where every stride you take is a deliberate decision to not stop just yet. Where every stride is a decision to not let yourself down. There must be perfect honesty in the act of distance running. You can't keep going just by pretending that you're man enough to handle it. And if you stop because your mind has given up before your body is truly spent, any excuse you make to yourself would be unmistakably hollow.
So here's to the marathon runner. Maybe I'll be one some day.
3 comments:
hi mahogany, i work at adidas and what u've written is so true to what we stand for...
very insightful...
I think it has less to do with any sense of comparison (eg. superiority) but more to do with time for self and introspection. A unique occasion in today's world to really spend some time escaping.
They say running isn't a thing I do, but a place I go. I totally agree. What I find funny is that if you run in one direction and then turn round to run home, you always seem to run the second half quicker....like you were lost on the outward leg and then found yourself when you turned to run home which makes it hurt less. Weird huh.
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