SuperRun on Running

The "Gift"
After over 40 years of running, I've learned that being able to run isn't a right, or a guaranteed constant for me: it's a gift. And if I take my ability to run for granted, or start to feel sorry for myself because I didn't run as fast or as far as I wanted, something always happens to hammer that lesson home once again.

Once, five weeks after severe leg cramps had caused a painful finish to a marathon, I was trying to find the motivation necessary to resume my normal running schedule. I was 3 miles into a 10 mile run and not anxious to finish the last 7, when I saw him. He was moving slowly, all alone except for the red-tipped cane that he was using to tap the sidewalk in front of him. I'd seen him several times before while running my routes, and had always said hello when I passed. "How far today", he said as I approached. "Ten" I said, immediately feeling guilty, to which he responded "Sounds like about an 8 or 9 minute clip", as I was about to pass. I moved over to the sidewalk and stopped to talk to him for a minute. During our conversation he mentioned that he used to run in his twenty's, before an illness took his eyesight. He wasn't bitter, but said that he had really enjoyed running. I told him that I'd be glad to help him, if he ever decided to run again. He said that he might take me up on that some day, but now wasn't the time. With that, we said our goodbye's, and I was on the run again.

Not surprisingly, the last 7 miles of my run were effortless, and I couldn't wait to get out the door again the next day, either. Throughout the years, I've been unable to run several times due to injuries and other problems. Many other times, I could have done more, and just didn't. But through it all, I always eventually come back to that one constant lesson: long or short, fast or slow, being able to run a single step is a gift, and one that I need to take care of.

I love running, and enjoy being around people who feel the same. I look forward to sharing my running and training experiences and thoughts with you here on the Super Running website. I hope this finds you healthy, and in full appreciation of your running gift, too.

Run on,

SuperRun

Article © 2004 Ron Rowland, all rights reserved