Running With Horses: What I Learned from Racing the Kenyans!
What I Learned from Racing the Kenyans!
Well, technically it was more of participating with these elite athletes as opposed to racing, but it is a true statement none-the-less. It's part of the running experience that makes our sport so different than any other. Think about it. In what other professional competition can you or I, average Joe and Jane, sign up, line up and race against the best in the world. On that given day, if we were to catch lightening in a bottle, (or in my case, be struck by lightening so as to improve 4 minutes / mile), we would be crowned the winner. We have the same opportunity as any other race bib out there to win that event. To me, that's pretty incredible.
1."Elite" is found in all of us. By no means am I making light of the tremendous accomplishments and abilities that these front runners bring to our sport. However, we often fail to realize just how elite our marathon or half-marathon finishes are when viewed with the perspective of the population in general. Fractions of a percent ever seek to train and complete a marathon. In fact, I have come to realize that all runners (casual joggers, 5k’ers, etc.) tend to exceed the fitness and perseverance limits that most will ever attempt. We are elite, and having the chance to spread that elite-like quality out among thousands of racers is really the only right way to do it.
2. Running is perhaps the most inclusive and global of all sports. Could you imagine showing up at Augusta for your tee time with Phil? Or pulling your stock car into Charlotte Speedway for the qualification race? Or even having a first round match against McEnroe or Borg, (yes, I'm very old school when it comes to tennis), at a sanctioned tournament. But in running it's different. Fill out the application, send in the entry fee and "presto", you're lacing them up just like the big boys and girls. In addition, the very presence of these international superstars is a reminder that even the poorest of nations are not prohibited from producing excellence. Racial, socioeconomic, political or any other difference among us does not prevent participation.
In closing, the good news is that with each race my time gets faster at a much greater rate than the professionals. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll catch them. Until then, I'll be content to simply be within a few hundred feet at the starting line. The same one that we will all cross to begin that day's journey.Run long, and go race a Kenyan, or Ryan Hall, or Deena Kastor, or David Holcomb.