“It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process – what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands – those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion.” – Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian
These words really resonated with this Roadrunner! Certainly there is nothing wrong with running merely in order to keep our weight down, or to "stay fit," or to enjoy the company of friends. But how much deeper and more meaningful an experience running becomes if we approach it as a way to learn more about ourselves, to make ourselves not just better runners but better people.
So I'm looking forward to my first Saturday long run in four weeks tomorrow morning. What will I discover about the friends I will be running with, the sights and sounds I will be taking in along the way? What will I discover about myself? If I discover nothing, then I haven't been paying attention.
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