What It Takes To Be A Runner

On my way home from marathon weekend, I ran into one of my neighbors.  We settled right into the normal pleasantries, starting with "Whatca' up to this weekend?"  I launched into a excited recap of all the fun I had this weekend cheering on our friends in all their races.  He followed up with a simple question, "What's it take to run one of those marathon races?"

Hum...great question.  Not one to leave a question hanging and unanswered, I quickly ran down the list of what it takes to be a runner and especially a runner who tackles the long distance.  Here is the recipe I discovered while watching, meeting, and listening to all the runners this weekend:

First you need a large scoop of gotta wanna.  You can't toe the line without it, because your legs will only take you so far without a little energy from your brain.   Our friend is Angela is a great example of this.  She has all the ability to run the distance and only needed to apply a thin frosting of "I can do it!"  "I will do it!" in order to cross the line.  Read the race stories from any runner and you will hear over and over that their mental fitness drove them to the line.  One of my favorite race stories from this weekend that shows about 4 heaping scoops of this is from zanne  (or as told by her husband) - simply amazing!

Add a pinch of willingness to push.  Very few of us are natural born runners.  We aren't asked or expected to go out and run long distances at any age.   To be a runner, you have to push yourself to the next mile in your training runs.  You need to get a little uncomfortable, you may feel some pain, you need to stretch past what you know you can do.   One of the highlights for me this weekend was to have a moment to talk to the winner of the men's half marathon.  Blake Bolden was resting on a bench just a few feet from Tom and I and we struck up a conversation.  When I found out that he had not only won but also broke the record (1:08:07) - I was in awe.  I asked him, "So what does it feel like to win your race and set a record."   His quiet reply, "It really hurts for about an hour."  Later, we were lucky to meet the women's 2nd and 3rd place half marathon finishers.  You know I had to ask her the same question, and she replied, "It hurts like hell.  At about 9 miles, I just wanted to sit down and have a soda - and I don't drink soda."   I may never be fast or win any part of a race, but I know that without a willingness to push, my goals won't become my results.

And then add a dash of trying something new.  At the expo on Saturday, a wonderful  lady approached me quickly, gave an awkward glance, and leaned in close and asked, "What do you think it means if I am over 50 and still a virgin?"   My quiet response was, "we are talking about running, right?"   To which she lit up, laughed, and grabbed one the "virgin" signs.  She was one of many, many half marathon and marathon virgins that we had the privilege to meet this weekend.  Many were nervous and excited at the same time - they were wary of attempting the distance but so willing to give it their all.

And don't forget a happy handful of crazy.  We met alot of crazy runners too!  "Marathon Maniac" (his words/shirt) - not mine - had just finished the Kansas City marathon on Saturday and jumped into the DSM marathon.  We have friends who completed Des Moines and are headed to New York next week.  We met people who hadn't trained at all and just wanted to give it a shot and people who had ran a "short" 18 miles the day before.  My favorite quote was from an older runner who finished his first marathon in a little over 5 hours and was cramping and in pain, but beaming like someone just gave him his first bicycle.  His family gathered around, holding him up - helping him walk, very concerned, asking him how he was doing.  His response, "I am just one big cramp below my waist and I love it!".  Their response?  "You are crazy".  Of course! It is a required ingredient.

And don't forget to serve it with a big side of having fun.  In one word.  Sonya!   A first  time half marathoner, Sonya had alot of fun with our signs and the energy of the event.  This is her after picture (click here for before pic). You gotta' love her spirit - especially after finishing 13.1 miles running.  To keep coming back and running each day to train or race at these distances, you need to enjoy the time on your feet.  I wish each of you the amount of joy that she gives off in this photo after running 13.1 miles. (And yes, she has clothes on - she is just creative about hiding them for the photo.)

And last but not least, you must amazing support from your friends and family.   They need to understand about your new obsessions with just the right pair of socks, the reverance in which you talk about "hydrating", and those long runs that take us away for hours at a time.  They are a critical to becoming a runner!

And somewhere in all of this, a few miles of running is the last thing you stir into the pot to make it really sing.   Makes it all seem so easy....ha!

Comments

[Lisa]

It takes many things to be a runner, but all the required elements are within our grasp. :)

[madeline]

This may or may not be true for everybody, but I needed to have friends who were runners.

I'd been a runner for about 10 years without much in terms of motivation, and then I moved next door to my current neighbor. We started running together, and because of our support for one another, we've completed 4 marathons and countless other races--and I wouldn't have done any of it if it weren't for her.

[Bob]

Great post! Even though we haven't met, we now have a runner in common. I ran with Mr. Marathon Maniac for about 3/4 of the KC Marathon! Too funny. At one point there were people handing out beads. He grabbed a string and dropped them, I was right behind him and picked them up and handed them to him. He let out a hoot, yelled "just like Mardi Gras!", lifted his shirt to the chuckling crowd and then off he went.

I think spirit is the ingredient that keeps coming up for me. There is a feeling with marathoners and halfers that can't be matched. When I got back, our group announced all the marathoners from the weekend (there were 14 of us, 2 in Des Moines!) and I got just as big a cheer for "completing" my marathon as the better runners did for PRs and Boston qualifying efforts. And then the runners that are usually slower than me all barked out congratulations and knowing smiles as they ran past me as I hobbled gingerly down the trail in my first "post marathon" run. It was great!

[Lisa-Slow&Steady]

Good post!

[Kent A]

It's funny none of these attributes required dollars or gadgets to obtain. It is all about what is inside you. Sure, you might need shoes, shorts, or for the injured folk orthopedic devices to hold ailing parts together, but at the root, if you are missing the internal parts all you are doing is playing a role of runner. A suit or costume you can put on and take off as needed, for example when you've lost the weight. However once it wiggles its way into you, it's a whole more difficult to get it out.

It is encouraging though that even the best runners go through the same internal gut check, so that the fact that you are going through it is not unusual. It is your response to it that matters. I need more work on my response to it around mile 23.

[justrun]

As someone who has seemed to find her running "mojo" once again, I really LOVED this post!
And, I need some of those signs!

[nwgdc]

"I am just one big cramp below my waist and I love it!".

why can't i think of stuff like that!?

[Nat]

This post made me both laugh and cry. I have so been there. (My mother used to send me links about stories of people who die running. I love my mother, she just doesn't get it.) I know it makes infinitely easier now that The Man runs too... and my god the community keeps you going when you don't think you can't.

Heck after seeing Nancy pics, I want to go run RIGHT now at it's 10 p.m and I'm in my pjs.

Thank you Amy