Thankful

That you're here, and for what we get to do

The other day, I was thinking to myself — as I often do — what is it, exactly, that I’m writing about when I write about running here in the newsletter?

After all, running isn’t like most other sports. It involves a lot of athleticism, yes, but so do basketball, football, and soccer – sports where physical skill also is important. And it’s almost the opposite of golf, a game where finely tuned skill is the thing you need to play (or at least to play without wanting to throw your club into the woods!).

No, as

Amby Burfoot

has pointed out, running is a non-skill activity. So, for other than a few tiny things, there’s little we can look to the world’s greatest runners to try to copy when we’re trying to get better ourselves in the way amateur golfers try to learn, say, the mechanics of Tiger Woods’s swing.

You really can only be yourself, who you are — and that’s more than enough, as Burfoot says:

“We westerners have a tendency to look outside ourselves for secrets and shortcuts. But running is such a basic, nontechnical activity that the greatest truths may be the simplest. You have to train hard. You have to take rest breaks. You have to eat well but not too much. You have to expect some bad days and bad races; all life, after all, follows certain cyclical patterns. Excessive worry and hair-pulling won't do too much good. The best way to race well another day is to put today behind you. You can't change it, so you might as well accept it and move onward. Face tomorrow with a fresh, open, confident attitude. If you believe tomorrow could be the day when everything works out perfectly for you, then that may in fact be the case.”

I absolutely love this sentiment, both for the way it encourages us to accept ourselves and where we are — to see ourselves as we truly are, in this moment — and to still be full of hope and confidence about the future, no matter what trials we might be experiencing at the moment, or how discouraged we might feel.

There’s a strong chance that, had I never started writing this newsletter and hearing from you every week, I might have given up running for good years ago — and my life would be completely different for it. I wouldn’t be as conscious about my health, and trying to get to a better place with it.

I’d probably have adopted very different habits, you know? I’d think entirely differently without the liftoff that comes from running — I’m not sure I’d feel the same way about many things.

That you’re here, every week, trying to get better at the same time — that inspires me to keep going, and for that I’m so, so grateful. So, in the spirit of the holiday, I just wanted to say thank you for being here, for reading and subscribing, and helping keep this project going. It wouldn’t be possible without you, that’s for sure!

I’m excited about the year ahead with you, and am thinking of doing a December running challenge if you’re up for it — let me know!

As always, keep in touch and let me know what’s happening in your running/life.

Your friend,

— Terrell