Inspiration Week 14 - Winning

There are few of us that will "win" a race. Maybe if we are fast enough and fortunate, we might win a smaller, local race, or place in age division. When we line up at Chicago Marathon (or other) in October, we certainly aren't going to win that race, and highly unlikely we will even place very high in division.

So, if only one person wins the race, does that make the rest of us losers? Certainly not because one of the greatest benefits of distance running is that it teaches us to value our self. We will run a race with thousands of others, but we are not racing them - rather we are running with them. And, all we care about is our own outcome.

We still want to "win" and we can because there is only one runner in this race, and that is you. And so too it is for the rest of the thousands you run in front of, alongside of, or behind of. We win as long as we run a race that satisfies our own heart and soul.

Winning is not the title, the headlines, the trophy or the prize money - it's about your attitude. You are a winner when day-in and day-out you strive to be the best runner and best person you can be. Winning is not about the race or racing, but rather about our efforts, our challenges, our disappointments, our successes, our optimism, and most of all never giving up.

Winning is about today and tomorrow. It is about what you can do in the now to make yourself a better, happier and healthier person, and also what you can do to make a small difference in some other person's life. We can make a difference and change things for the better simply by giving our best effort every day.

I have paraphrased and borrowed on this concept of winning from Amby Burfoot. As Amby says, "If we are the best athlete and best person we can be, then we have assuredly won the race of life."

So as we get ever closer to our upcoming marathon race, keep the above in mind as you run. Understand and let others know that running the race is not about being the first to cross the finish line, but simply giving it your best and crossing the line. But nothing is finished once you do because the next day you start all over again.

And if for some reason or other something happens and goes wrong (e.g. injury) and you don't make it to the finish line, then rest assured you are still a winner because at least you gave it your best effort. Because as Amby puts it, "In the race to be your best, there is no losing."

The Coach "Frogger"

Note: For Amby's version see Lesson Four, "Winning" in The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life, 2007, Skyhorse Publishing.