Being a Student of the Sport

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

“Why don’t you write more about running?” a well-meaning acquaintance asked me the other day. It’s a good question, if not unoriginal. Anyone who knows me, even a little bit, knows that I love to run, that I’ve been running a long time, blah blah blah.

I guess the reason I don’t write about running all that much is the same reason I don’t listen to podcasts about running, or read many books about running. And that reason is this: running has been a big part of my life for a long time. It’s something I love, but it already takes up so much mental real estate that I don’t really want to give it any more space. I’m a multi-faceted human being with diverse interests-we all are. Plus, I’ve seen in real time the absurdity and emptiness that comes from putting all your eggs in one basket, to use a less-than-stellar metaphor.

I’ve read a few books about running, and they all seem to be saying pretty much the same things: running is a lifestyle; it’s transformative; it helped the author overcome some life obstacle; it helped the author reveal some untapped inner strength; it helped the author cope with a a tragedy; it served as a stand-in addiction for some other, less healthy addiction; it brought the author to some aspirational high or some equally depressing low; it helped the author sort out thoughts…