I was standing on the path at Greenlake and I saw a woman running towards me at an amazing pace, with the most gorgeous stride. And she looked like she was closing in on 70 years old. I actually stopped to compliment her on her amazing technique and she hugged me. She shared that she had been running since she was 15 and then she gave me a look of desperation and openness and said, “running was the ONLY thing I had, and it’s gotten me through a lot over the years” I believed her with all of my heart. I could tell she had a big story.
I run for vary personal reasons and I have coached many people over the years who share their stories and I try to help them run. Each story is as different as the stride of a runner, and some would break your heart and you would never want to have their troubles.
But, then I hear people say, “I want to run like them, I want to look like that person, I want beat so and so.” cause, from the out side, they are faster, stronger, something-ier and seem to be happier. I lean back to one of the ‘contract’ lines that I make all of my new runners sign saying: ‘Don’t compare yourself to another runner. Don’t compare your insides to their outsides.’ You’ll never win. Instead, find your own motivation inside. Why you want to stay healthy, move and be in the community. That will drive you to your own “best” as oppose to never getting to another persons “best”.