The Courage To Start by John "The Penguin" Bingham

The Courage To Start by John "The Penguin" Bingham

Author:John "The Penguin" Bingham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria
Published: 2013-12-03T00:00:00+00:00


Part Three

THE ROAD TO VICTORY

9

The Starting Line

I run because I want to. I run because through running I am discovering parts of myself that I didn’t know were there. I run because most days it feels good to move my body with my own strength and will.

I race because I have to. I think most runners do. Racing on a regular basis—racing every distance from the 5K to the marathon—keeps us honest. Racing keeps us from falling into the trap of self-delusion. Racing reminds us that, like Popeye, we are what we are, and that’s all that we are. Once the starter’s gun is fired, there’s no pretending.

Beyond that, for me, racing has also become a metaphor for life. Racing is the tangible expression of the vagaries of my existence, of the precision of my preparation as a person and as a runner, and of the simple truth that sometimes things go right, or wrong, when you least expect it.

Racing has helped me understand my place in the world of runners and in the world at large. In every race there are those who are more talented, those who have greater physical gifts, and those who have less. At every race there are those who have prepared with greater care, who have mined the limits of their talent more completely than I have, and those who haven’t.

Without much effort, even beginning runners can take the lessons learned from racing and apply them to the rest of their lives. In races, you learn to accept the unevenness of the human condition, the extent to which some people can exploit their gifts, the sheer exhilaration of a day when events conspire to create a perfect experience, and the transitory quality of those times when everything seems to go right, or, when it all goes wrong.

Like each new day, each starting line is filled with potential. For a moment, only that moment counts. Your last race means nothing. Each starting line holds the promise of greatness, even if that greatness is relative. It holds the secret to some mystery in your running life. It reveals what you are doing right and what you could be doing better.

Some runners never race. Some are content to run for their health, both physical and mental, and never feel the need to be a part of an organized race. I applaud their dedication to the activity of running, but a part of me wishes they would consider the additional joy that comes with the celebration on race morning.



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