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Getting From the Start to the Finish Line Makes You Special. Go You!
It’s like cake. Let me explain.
I’ve been a runner for decades.
In those decades I have participated in races of all kinds and distances—giant events to local fun runs. At those races have been runners of ALL ability levels and I get excited that people have showed up and are ready to go for it.
Like many of us, I have had times when I have trained for specific events and other times when I’m just trying to keep moving regularly. I’ve also spent time as a Personal Trainer and coaching friends with their running. So, I have had many opportunities to encourage beginners and other runners who feel intimidated or discouraged about their abilities compared to “real runners.”
The conversation
Here is a conversation I have had many times with other runners, particularly recreational runners or new runners, but also long-time participants.
It goes something like this:
me: “Hey, good to see you here at the race! You ready to go?”
them: “Hi! Well, I’m okay, but I’m not as fast as most of these people…”
me: “That’s no big deal, everyone is at a different stage in their fitness and experience. You got here — you do your thing.”
them: “I haven’t done too many races, so…I’ll probably need to walk a little”
me: “Hey, that’s perfectly fine. After all, you’ll still be beating every single person who couldn’t get off the couch this morning!”
So what’s the cake part?
The point I want to make to people when we have this conversation is that they are already way ahead of lots or others and are actually pretty special.
That’s when I say that it’s like a cake.
Imagine a nice frosted layer cake representing the entire population. Everybody.
Continuing with the metaphor, the frosting on the top is everyone who do some running or jogging (15% of the US population).
Any distance at all. Any speed.
