Phedippidations

The human body is a remarkable vessel capable of impressive action, best displayed within the course of running a statute mile. A milerembraces a style of running that demands all of her or his faculties: physically, mentally and spiritually. To watch a mile race is to watch an extreme form of performance art, but it is also to behold the beauty and wonder of the human body, in motion, as it was meant to be: running fast, and hard, moving smoothly with purpose and a searing determination that is a wonder to behold.

The state of the World Wide Half Marathon race course is in jeopardy if the projected global temperatures increase as they are expected to do. We owe it to our fellow runners, and future generations to use the natural resources of our planet with care, respect and intelligence. Ignorance of the truth is not an option, and it does not matter who or what is to blame for Global Warming: what matters is that we be responsible and take action, today, right now, not later; today, not tomorrow, this very hour.

For the 35 th Annual Falmouth Road Race, I’m once again running with my friend Joe. It’s summertime on Cape Cod, with the promise of an ice cold beer waiting at the finish line, and what better way to share such a delicious frosty beverage than with an old friend.

Dr. Sheehan taught us that this running life sets us apart from the sedentary, but not necessarily above them. There is a runner in all of us, even for those who sit on the “Couch of Doom‿ because the body is willing, but it is our spirit that needs ignition. As runners, we are required to live a life of work, and a life of play, but above all, a life less ordinary.

We all understand the concept behind the phrase “no pain, no gain‿. As runners, we can accept some level of aches and injuries for our efforts on the road; but we must not invite pain as an expected and acceptable consequence for hard training…we must prepare our bodies for the pressure and force that we’ll put upon it by taking preventative measures that will help us to run without the hurt.

Junk miles and recovery runs are important elements of a good training program as they can help you run faster and longer. They allow you to enjoy slow easy runs while your body is healing from the stress forced upon it in the hours before you hit the road and they allow you to reach some whole number goal of daily or weekly mileage to appease the guilt you might carry for running below a self made threshold of distance that you consider significant and a source of pride.

As runners, our intent in a race is to meet and exceed our goals by moving as fast as possible towards the finish…but while the motion of running is always going to be our primary method of locomotion, you should not ignore the benefits of incorporating walk breaks as a means towards finishing fast and strong, as well as to ensure a faster recovery.

When you get to an age where the world tells you that you’re quote “old‿, when society begins to classify you as a “senior‿ and treats you with the respect that the elderly deserve: don’t reject the kindness or attention; but neither should you “act your age‿. If you are a runner, training and taking part in a road races: then you are NOT old.

You owe it to yourself, and to the rest of the running community, to start writing a blog, or producing a podcast. Write about your thoughts, your opinions and share your rambling diatribes…because at some point you’re going to write or record something that will touch another fellow runner, somewhere in this world, in such as way that it will have an important and positive influence in their life.

This year, the Phedippidations World Wide Half marathon will take place on the third planet from the sun, 26,000 light-years from the galactic center. It’s a tiny blue bubble of life swarming with fellow runners who will be thinking of this global community while running on their local portion of the planet. As we travel around the globe, or look to imagine those places where our fellow runners take to the roads and paths, we should consider that at only 25,000 miles in circumference the Earth really is a small, small world.