I'll try to keep this short to encourage you to check out a post or two (or three ... etc.).
Another Mother Runner: Why I Run (Joan Markwell). Pretty much everything that Joan Markwell listed as reasons why she runs — the exception being "positive role model for my daughters — are ones that I share.
This one, though, I tend to forget, especially now when I'm meeting so many new people and having to talk about my interests:
"A sense of belonging — You are a runner. Repeat after me, 'I am a runner.' It feels nice and other people respect you for that no matter your pace, distance or outfit. Just making the effort makes you part of the club."Gotta stop trying to qualify my hobby with "but I'm slow," "but I'm not competitive," "but no, I don't do or want to do marathons" or any other "but" statement!
RW Daily: Motivational Poster #28. This picture's 10 words are truly worth a thousand. Have I mentioned that I love Mark Remy?
Running Is Funny: Do Bosses Prefer Moms or Marathoners? Mike stumbles upon the most random and delightful articles. The one he references here is about women in the workplace, and the pertinent section has the author claiming that employers are likely to think of marathon-running employees as more dedicated, disciplined and hardworking than they would of working mothers.
If this is true — which Mike and I both doubt — I know what I'll be stressing in any future job interviews. Though the interviewer will only give me half the credit that I apparently deserve.
Another Mother Runner: Why I Run (Annet Maurer). Annet Maurer's lived all over and has picked up the language(s) everywhere she's been: Dutch (her native tongue), English, French, Swiss-German, Spanish and, she jokes, Australian. Those linguistic adventures — having to jump in and start from scratch — inspired her comparison of running as learning a foreign language; it's the third paragraph in the post, so you don't have to scroll far.
It's such a good analogy. I remember being so righteously outraged that I had to take gym class for most of my school career, thinking how unfair it was that I had to do something so difficult in front of people who found it so easy. (Side note: Who misses being a teenager? Not me.)
Did it ever occur to me, as I whizzed through French class or aced spelling tests, that other people were struggling with it and miserable and embarrassed by my comfort? Yeah, right. If I ever go back in time, one thing I'll be sure to tell my adolescent self is "get over it."
Running Is Funny: Hockey Writer Comes Up With Worst Marathon Analogy Ever. Some hockey writer wanted to make the point that the L.A. Kings' Stanley Cup victory doesn't mean the city will suddenly go hockey crazy and embrace the team (as, I'd like to point out, Chicago does and has for several years before the Stanley Cup win). So he made this statement:
"[It] reminds me of what people think when someone runs his or her first marathon. But contrary to popular belief, it means only that person has the fitness and endurance to run 26.2 miles. It doesn’t mean he or she can have another child, go back to school, change jobs or accomplish anything he or she tries."One, does anyone truly believe that if s/he runs a marathon, s/he can turn water into wine or cure cancer? (I'd say no.) Two, wouldn't you think that the qualities necessary to train for and complete a marathon would assist someone in achieving the goals this guy rattles off?
But I digress. The point is that another blogger created a list of reasons why this hockey writer has such venom for marathon runners. Read them here.
Runner's Digest: 7.13.12. Olympian Michael Johnson posted an awe- and jealousy-inspiring photo to his Facebook account. Scroll to the bottom of this post to check it out.
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