Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCLII

If we were looking for a beautiful day...the kind where everyone longs to spend as much time as possible outdoors...this was not the day we were looking for. The temperature was somewhere in the high thirties, there was a hard wind blowing in from the north, and it was raining cats and dogs. Our running group was just getting into the tough part of our marathon training, and we had a seventeen mile run scheduled for that day. Since we never know what kind of day we will be facing when get to the actual marathon, we made a rule, one that we still follow to this day, that we will train in whatever kind of weather we face as long as there is no lightning or hail. And, believe it or not, some of our best training runs seem to come on days just like this one. On this day, somewhere around mile twelve, our route took us past a golf course. When we ran past the third green, which was probably no more than twenty feet to our right, there was a golfer who was in the process of making his chip shot up onto the green. When he looked over and saw us run by, he made some snide remarks about people who would get out and run on such a day. We just smiled and waved, all the while thinking that if there was a crazy person in this scene, it was the golfer...not the runners. We were dressed appropriately and we had our blood pumping, so we really were not cold at all.

That's just one example of countless comments we've heard in the last several years about our running in what some may describe as less than ideal conditions. I guess it all boils down to perspective. Some of the same people who are so vocal about how stupid we are for running in such adverse conditions will go to a deer stand or duck blind and sit practically motionless for several hours in the same kind of weather. The point is, people do what they want to do, and if they want it badly enough, they won't let any type of adverse circumstances stand in their way. There is one question, however, that's not quite so easily answered: Why do we do it? Why do hunters, golfers and runners brave the cold wind and rain to pursue their interests? Why do shoppers head to the mall in droves on the day after Thanksgiving? Since I'm the runner, I'll explore this from the runner's perspective.

I can easily answer the question of why I started running. I was about sixty pounds overweight. Something had to be done, and running was the avenue that I chose. But then the running bug got in my blood, and I haven't been the same since. We now run marathons. As a reminder for those who may not remember, or for those who don't know, a marathon is 26.2 miles. The next time you leave to go on a road trip, check the mileage on your car when you leave home and make note of how far down the road you are when you hit the 26.2 mile mark. It's a long way. It's a distance I've run ten times so far, and most times when I go that distance, when I finish, some part of my body is bleeding...usually one of my toes, my skin is chaffed, and I'm hurting in places I forgot I had. I actually consider running a marathon fun...for the first 18 miles, but at that point, there's another 8.2 miles left to go. And as far as the weather, I'll take the cold wind and rain any day over a day that's hot and humid, and in our part of the country, we have more of those hot, humid days than any other. So why do I do it? The honest answer is "I don't know." Maybe the challenge of it is something that I find hard to resist. Maybe it's the camaraderie with my fellow runners. Maybe it's because I'm doing something with a degree of difficulty that keeps the average person away, putting me in somewhat of an elite group. Maybe it's the thought that I believe I can do better next time I try. Maybe it's the memory of that runners high that I felt after I finished my first one. Maybe, and most likely, it is a combination of all of the above. Whatever it is, I keep coming back to do it again and again. From the runner's perspective, that's about all I can say, and I'll have to let the golfers, hunters, and shoppers speak for themselves.

The reason I'm talking about this now is because I'm heading out toward Mobile, Alabama this afternoon to try it one more time. We have a really big group of us going this time, a few who will be making this attempt for the first time. If I can complete this one, it will be my eleventh time to do so. Wish us luck.

Preston