. . . Runners Need
Yesterday was President’s Day — it’s a holiday that often escapes my notice, as I don’t have kids in school, and seriously — who thinks about President’s Day except for the kids?
We should, though; Presidents have many qualities that runners really need.
Vision
Say what you want about Obama, but I will say that he definitely had a vision of what he wanted for our country. It’s too bad he was unable to realize his vision.
Runners need vision, too: we need the ability to see the big picture — not just the coming race, but how that coming race actually fits into our goals.
We also need the vision to see ourselves as runners. I can’t begin to tell you the talented runners I’ve met who don’t feel as though they’re “real” runners. Or the vision to see ourself running that first mile, first race, and so on.
Honesty
Old Honest Abe (and Washington, and Jefferson too) were on to something:
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. — Thomas Jefferson
You have to be honest with yourself:
- Do you really want to run that marathon, or are you just suffering from FOMO?
- Is it time to see a doctor/PT/chiropractor over that little niggle?
- Should you really run today, or would you be better served by more rest?
- Are you pushing yourself or just getting by?
It isn’t always easy being honest with yourself. But it can harder when you don’t pay attention to that little voice telling you something isn’t right.
Perseverance
Back to Lincoln. Did you know that he lost eight elections? How easy it would have been for him to give up — and you have to wonder where would our country be today if he had.
It takes a lot of perseverance to be a runner:
- Persevering through bad weather
- Persevering through tiredness
- Persevering through your doubts/fears
When all is said and done, it just comes down to putting one foot in front of the other. Over and over and over again.
A Good Team
No runner is an island — whether you need runner friends to motivate you, a coach to push you, a team of doctors to keep you running, or just support from your significant other, running is always better with good people in your corner.
Belief
Just insert runner for lawyer in the quote below:
If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already. –Abraham Lincoln
True, belief is unlikely to get you to the finish line. Only lots of hard work, and yes, perseverance, will get you there. But if you believe you can, you are more than half way there.
I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.
Chocolaterunsjudy 
Very good and inspiring. You do speak the truth! 🙂
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Yes to all and a cute and timely spin on this topic. I think we could use an Abe Lincoln about now.
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You’ll notice I made no comments on our current political situation. I try to stay out of that online!
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I love this! You’re so right…as runners we have to be honest with ourselves and listen to our bodies! And we sure do have to persevere a LOT to do what we do! Hope you had a nice President’s Day, I was glad to have the day off!
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President’s Day is just another day when you don’t work (or before, when you were self employed) & my husband doesn’t get it off either.
Glad you got to enjoy a day off — long weekends are always nice.
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Great blog!! I do think about President’s Day because it is a holiday for me. Not for Greg, though, so I had a quiet day at home in the pouring rain.
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Sometimes being inside while it’s pouring outside can be soothing. At least you don’t have dogs you’re trying to coax outside!
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Love this day because I always have the day off. And a day off means running in the daylight. It was sunny too so icing on the cake.
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I had to work yesterday but it was quiet. The Boulder schools have the day off, so some people were out for a 3-day weekend. It was nice to get some stuff done without feeling rushed. Back to normal today.
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I don’t think I’ve ever had President’s Day off, actually. Or my husband.
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What a great spin on President’s Day for runners! **I had no idea that Lincoln lost 8 elections!
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I didn’t know about Lincoln either. I’m assuming that’s actually accurate, but who knows?
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Judy, I love this post. So perfectly stated in every way.
There are so many runners who have so much self-doubt and struggle with goals because they can’t envision the journey — or the end. It’s so important to be presidential in those instances!
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Thanks, Rachel. I think we all struggle with self doubt — which is why it’s nice to have you in my corner. 🙂
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Great analogies. And yes to having a team. I love my runner friends and everyone who supports me or at least takes an interest in my running.
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Or pretends to take an interest in our running . . .
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I think the honesty (especially with ourselves) is crucial, but definitely tough to face.
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You are so right!
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Yes to all of these! I’ve always appreciated President’s day, but more so from when I was in the Air Force and the President was my actual “boss.” 🙂
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I have to admit, President’s Day has always kind of passed by unnoticed by me.
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Totally understandable!
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You didn’t compare Trump’s qualities to running? Oh wait, there’s a blog for that: Marathon Investigation… :p
Clever post!
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I’ll wait for your take on that, Wendy. I’ll cover a lot of topics on my blog — politics? Not going there.
I’ve run a large online community before (not that my community here is anywhere near as large, actually) & I know just how ugly that can get.
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Creative and fun! Yes we could all do better to adopt most of those qualities
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I think yours was even more creative & fun. I think I’ll have to steal it someday.
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