Run - Live - Connect
by Franc Karpo - Distance Running Tips
(Boston, MA)
Why Do I run?
Naturally there are the obvious physical benefits, i.e. fitness, better health, weight management, mental clarity, etc., but there are many other factors to why I run.
These reasons, (factors) of why I run have changed, adapted over the years. I'm 52 years old and I started at age 16, so that puts me at 36 years of running experience.
I clearly remember watching the 1964 Olympics, and at age 8, I was mesmerized by the Marathon Gold medalist, Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia. There was something pure and beautiful about the way Abebe ran that attracted me like a moth to a flame. Of course I was interested in other sports, but there was something about running that even at that young age, I found mystical, magical and I knew (at a subconscious level) that running was going to be a major influence in my life.
In high school at age 16, I tried out for cross country, (not really even sure what type of running this was), and I was hooked. :) Even though I loved running, I wasn?t very good at it as far as competition goes. That first year I was ranked last on my team.
But the seed was planted...
The following year, (my senior year) I improved dramatically and became the number one runner on our team. Even though I worked hard at my training in the off season, all the top runners graduated, so I sort of inherited the top guy mantle by default.
Growing up in an emotionally and physically abused environment, running was an outlet for me... a means of escape. A chance to feel a sense of freedom away from the stuff I had to deal with at home.
As I got older and faster I started to become good enough to win age group prizes, trophies, etc., so there was a strong ego element to my running, which actually helped develop self confidence and self esteem as I was sorely lacking in those areas.
And now as I compete in the senior division, I do well in my age group, but this isn't really the reason why I run anymore.
For me the reasons why I run have evolved over the years.
Perhaps running is an opportunity to me to release unconscious guilt? As runners we experience pain and suffering, at times when we run hard. (It's a sweet pain. :)
Is running something I do to escape from the madness, the insanity of this world? Does running keep me sane?
Similar to many runners, I don't quite feel right until we've had my daily running fix. So I also run out of habit. If you do something almost every day for over 30 years, it indeed becomes a habit, a positive addiction.
Running has evolved into something of a spiritual, meditative experience for me. Sometimes when I run I feel like I am connecting with God, the over-soul. My belief is similar to the Pantheist, (everything is God) nature, so when I run I do feel that spiritual connection with the road, trees, wind, rain, etc. It almost feels like when I'm running, I am a child in God's playground. (Of course the days when I feel like crap, I stay at the level of the body and don?t experience this.)
On long runs when I feel good, I can enter an almost 'Zen-like' state of mind and not even be aware of my surroundings. When this happens, running for me is moving meditation.
Now my attitude when I race is no longer to 'beat the other runner', but instead to work with the synergistic energy of the other runners so we all can run our best. And if I 'beat the other runner' by doing this, that's fine, but it really doesn't matter as long as we all run to our potential.
So even though the racing is still important, the time on the road and trail is a time for me to connect to the source of life sustaining my body, mind and soul. Running is like breathing. Running is life. Running is a love affair with God.
