by Dr. George Sheehan
(reprinted with permission)
(Ed note: Dr. George Sheehan was running’s first and foremost philosopher. Until he started writing in the 1970’s, running’s writers focused on either elite runners or running as effective means to get in shape. Sheehan wrote about running as a way of life, the road to self-improvement. Reading Sheehan’s seminal book “Running & Being” cemented Bennett’s lifelong commitment to running.
Although Dr. Sheehan was a traditional and religious man (he had 12 children, all with the same wife), his views on women runners were extremely progressive. His 1976 essay “You Let a Girl Beat You?” contains many nuggets of wisdom, most of which are still applicable today).
As soon as the race results appear in the paper, I hear the same old comments in the hospital where I work: “I see you let a girl beat you.” The statement is wrong on all counts; wrong in what it says; wrong in what it implies.
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As I stand at the first corral for this Women’s Half Marathon, I look around. I notice no one my age. I am over the age of 60 now and I idly wonder how much younger they are. I mean, I know for sure that statistically that they have to be of another age. Even so, I stand waiting for the anthem and then the start gun and do the usual wonderings if I am well enough trained, should I have done faster and longer runs, etc.
I have participated running in races for many years. Each time it brings on nerves and challenges and a certain level of excitement. In addition to running, I am a Jungian psychoanalyst and I know how the spirit has to be there and what it takes to get in the zone and to stay there.
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Your Own Personal Podium:
How to Get Back Up When You’ve Slipped Off
by Sandie Orlando
Running is a sport that allows us to define our own “personal podium” for success. It doesn’t matter if we’re looking to complete a mile without stopping, take 10 minutes off our half marathon time or re-qualify for Boston at Boston. The potential to reach goals that result in us proudly ascending our own personal podium is an important part of what gets us out the door most days. Some days, just getting out the door is enough in itself to qualify!
So what happens when we slip – or crash – off?
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Last week, Bennett came across an article “Why (Most) Women Shouldn’t Run” by strength coach Michael Boyle. You can access it from a link on the KatieRunsThis running blog.
Putting anger and indignation aside, let’s stick to an objective rebuttal.
Boyle’s conclusion is plain incorrect, as is the basis of his argument. About the only thing he says that is 100% true is that elite female distance runners have narrow hips and small breasts.
So what? Saying that women who do not possess this body type should not run is like saying that people who aren’t extremely tall should not play basketball.
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by Kimberly Kane
I ran to work today.
And so I started my day on the right foot.
I ran to work today.
I began my journey in the dark, cloaked in fog that settled on my clothes and eyelashes and ran through a beautiful sunrise.
I ran to work today.
The stop lights were kind to me and my legs were light allowing me to set a new PB for the “commute race”.
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by Rachel Le
I’ve always said that I wanted to run a marathon by the time I turned 25, but truthfully, I never believed it would happen. I’ve always been a “jogger”. I’d go out and run short distances, maybe 2-3 kilometres, but I never thought that I’d be able to run long distances. I don’t have the small lean build of distance runners and I never understood putting myself through that pain. Last year, things changed; I found my motivation!
In April 2010, my 26-year-old brother, Brad, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Initially, he was in excruciating pain and lost a tremendous amount of weight. I almost didn’t recognize him: my big, healthy 6’3” brother weighed less than I did, couldn’t get out of bed on his own, and needed a walker to get to the bathroom. My family’s life was put on hold as we rallied around him. It’s hard to describe the 6 months that he went through high doses of chemotherapy. The emotions, the procedures, the setbacks, the generosity and support of others, and finally the waiting…waiting to see if “it” will come back. If you’ve ever been there, you understand. If you haven’t, I pray that you never do, that we first find a cure for this terrible disease called cancer.
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by Annabelle DeGouveia
My marathon story began in 2003. As a mother of two boys under 4, I was a casual runner. I would run for fitness, run when I was stressed and sometimes when I really just felt like running away! In 2002, my husband who was also a casual runner told me he was going to run a half-marathon. “Damn, I’m jealous “, I thought. But later changed that to, “Why can’t I do that? Before I knew it, we had both completed two half-marathons that year, Toronto and Scotiabank.
By spring 2003, I was ready to try again and ran the Burlington Half. Despite my love of running and of the excitement of race day, I remember looking at the marathoners, still running long after I had finished my post race bagel and thought, “Damn, they’re crazy!. But, that soon changed.
At my local running store, I found myself perusing the brochures and flyers of upcoming races when a young staff member asked if I needed help. “Oh, not me, these marathons aren’t for me.” He looked at me and simply asked the right question, “Why can’t you do that?” And before I knew it, (and after a few glasses of red wine), I was registering for the Scotiabank Marathon that September.
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by Jennifer Baldachin
I have three amazing children, a husband who travels a lot, and a dog. Even so, four years ago I felt that I needed a new challenge. I was an occasional runner and decided that if I put my mind to it, I could accomplish what I once thought was best left for professional athletes: A marathon. I soon realized that my first pregnancy and training for my marathon were similar in many more ways.
The first trimester
When you first decide to run a marathon, you don’t tell people right away. You mention in an off-hand way that you’re thinking about it. It’s not until you are well into the training that you feel confident enough to announce “I’m going to run a marathon!” Though you know most people who train will succeed, when you say the words you can’t help but hope that something doesn’t go wrong.
You are so eager that you buy books about running and sign up for weekly emails. You Google for information online. You talk to other runners about their experiences and ask a million questions. You start to take multi-vitamins, eat properly, and try to get lots of rest.
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by Sandie O
6:45 A.M. Outside the temperature is -12C (10F) with a wind chill making it feel like -20C (-5F). The sidewalks are covered with packed and rutted snow with generous stretches of polished ice. Winds are coming from the northwest in gusts, whipping the overnight dusting of snow into random sharp blasts. The skies are still dark, but promise to be heavy and grey enough to muffle the sunrise. The roads are bordered by jagged snow banks, now sculpted by weeks of melting and refreezing.
This is what I will face when I step outside the front doors of the gym for my 10k run. It takes discipline mixed with insanity to turn my back on the rows of treadmills behind me. But this is my release – my challenge. My loosening exercises in the front entrance are designed to stall just a bit longer to see if any of my outdoor running partners will show. That makes me an unofficial greeter for other club members who come scooting in from the dark. “You’re crazy,” they say, unable to understand why I choose to do this.
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By Nicola Joyce
Can I tell you a story?
Once upon a time, there was a black and white dog with very big ears.
He was a very good dog.
His name was XT, because he liked to run alongside my husband and his friends when they went mountain biking (and XT is a type of mountain bike component).
He had a bad start in life, but made up for it later on. He liked running.
And playing rope.
And going for long walks.
One day, when he was about 10 years old, he felt a bit funny in the head. He ate his dinner, played a game of rope and then lay down for a sleep.
He didn’t wake up again.
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