Running is such an amazing thing. It is so simple; primal and instinctual to the human condition. Toddlers want to run everywhere, children run at every opportunity available. It is possibly one of the most natural movements for the human body. Nobody has to teach us how to run in our youth. From rolling over as a baby, to crawling and walking, it’s a natural progression. Then we start running!
It’s so simple.
Yet it can seem so complicated as an adult.
Years of being told:
“Stop Running!”
“Go Run a Lap!”
“Every time you mess up a play, you’re running lines”
Mix in the complexities of schooling, jobs, relationships, responsibilities, fast food and overall being an adult. A focus on a career or raising a family or taking care of a loved one. Running simply fades away.
You’ve probably heard all the comments as well:
“What are you running from?”
“Running breeds cowardice” - Navy Seals
"You know we invented cars right?”
“Why run? Why don’t you bulk up and stick around for the fight” - Green Berets
So, why are adults running? Why are we signing up for races we’ll never win?
Most of us don’t look like athletes and the ones that do will most likely never win a race. No matter how “fast” we get, we know there is someone out there faster. Matter of fact we know there are hundreds, thousands even millions of people faster. Yet here we are, running week in week out. Tracking miles, pace, cadence, heart rate, elevation, hours, gear, nutrition and hydration.
We spend money to “race”, knowing we won’t win. What are we doing? Why are we doing it?
After crossing the finish line, everyone gets a medal. It doesn’t matter your pace, if you started the race and crossed the finish line you’ll have earned a medal. The same medal as the winner of the race.
This is not a “participation trophy”.
Earning a Race Medal is a symbol of tenacity. It’s a material representation of the hours, days, weeks and months of training. Training takes sacrifice, discipline, tenacity and determination. It takes effort.
Effort is not defined by or associated with your pace or speed.
Effort is the mental fortitude and emotional resiliency to physically push yourself out of your comfort zone, then go just a little bit more. Effort is a decision, it’s a choice that takes physicality and a toughness. Yes, that’s my definition. Here’s the Dictionary’s definition below.
Effort (n): 1. Exertion of Physical or Mental Power , 2. An earnest or strenuous attempt
So many times in my life it’s taken great mental power to get through a run even though my watch and heart rate says I’m going “slow”. Garmin watches are notorious for this! My friend Thomas and I call it the “Goggins Effect” with the Garmin watches. You’ll finish a strenuous run where you put in great effort and the watch will indicate you basically did nothing. When in reality, you know you were well outside your comfort zone for the majority of your run.
Technology measures physiology. It measures physical data.
It can’t measure Effort. At least not effectively because it doesn’t get a full picture.
Effort includes the exertion of Mental Power.
Effort is an “earnest” attempt.
Earnest (adj): Resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction.
That little computer on your wrist can’t measure how sincere and authentic your actions are. It is not measuring the conviction in your heart and spirit to show up for a run when you don’t want to or to finish a run when you’re in the pain cave.
However, we humans are great at identifying effort. In ourselves and in others.
This is what makes being a member of Run Club so great.
Runners are good and recognizing effort in another athlete. We can see it in the small winces of pain in the face, we can see it when someone refuses to quit up a hill. We can pick up the subtle differences in breathing, the sound the feet make hitting the trail and the small fluctuations in cadence. We can take in all the variables after a conversation with a friend, knowing they are going through a hard time and how that impacts their performance on a run. The watch will say you suck. Another runner will recognize your incredible effort and provide encouragement.
Your pace and speed are not clear, accurate indicators of your effort.
Yes, we can all see someone who runs a 2:45 Marathon and recognize that is fast and appreciate that speed. Yet it’s the effort that we really respect.
If Eliud Kipchoge ran a 3:50 Marathon, would people be impressed? No, we’d think the man has some physical ailment we don’t know about and would feel sorry for him. If my friend Carrie ran a 3:50 Marathon, everyone in the club would be over the moon, because we know how much EFFORT it would take to accomplish that feat.
It’s not your speed or pace that earns respect. It’s your effort.
I’ve never understood the shaming of overweight, obese people who are in the gym or walking down the sidewalk or attempting to run in a run/walk cadence. It takes a lot to get out there and do the work. It takes courage. It takes determination. It takes effort.
So why are adults running? Why are we signing up for races we’ll never win?
I think in large part because we want to accomplish something that takes great effort to finish. It feels good to put in hard work and reap the benefits. We’re not racing against each other. We are in competition with ourselves. To be better today than we were yesterday and to strive to be better tomorrow than we are today.
Yes, it feels good to stand on a podium! To measure yourself against hundreds or thousands and know in that moment you were among the best. I’m not going to lie, winning feels good, but it feels best when you’ve put in great effort to achieve it! Getting a “win” handed to you feels like crap to the honorable person. We want to earn it.
Running With Friends Is Better
Why is it better? Because we build personal relationships and bonds. We also recognize effort or lack thereof. Friends will hype you up when you’ve put in great effort and hold you accountable when you’re “being a little bitch”. Running with friends is better because it provides feedback that technology never will.
Human interaction will never be replaced.
Running with friends is better because we can sense when you’re putting forth an honest effort that takes great mental power even though your pace may be slower than average or expected. Running with friends is better because we recognize when you’ve finished a “tough” run, even though we’ve seen you run further or faster.
Running with friends is better because going through hard things alone is tough. Very tough.
Running with friends is better because when we reach a goal, they appreciate how much effort it took and celebrate with us!
So get out there and put forth the effort!
You’ll find that as you consistently put forth great effort your paces will get faster, your distances farther.