My good friend Dave a marathon runner with the body of a linebacker would regularly run 3 hour marathons. He was so competitive that he would expend all of his energy in an effort to win or post his best times. He inspired me to complete one myself. Who wants to run 26.2 miles!
He was part of local running group in the Princeton, NJ area with a mix of runners with varying degrees of talent. One of his buddies just want to finish his runs, especially a 26 mile marathon. Well they both were entered in the same race and Dave went out with a blast but hit the wall or ran out of gas later in the race. His buddy was eating candy bars late in the race just trying to keep his energy up so he could finish. Would you believe it his friend who was a an hour slower finished the race, while Dave was gassed and had to drop out.
His friend had a lovely quote that Dave shared with me and that I remember to this day. Just like the tortoise and the hare,
"The race does not always go to the swiftest, but those that keep on running"
What a great metaphor for life also. We get so worked up at the slightest bit of adversity that sometimes we stop running, moving, or living. Keep going finish the race. Time passes so quickly. And when you look back on that adversity, oftentimes that mountain is just a small hill that you easily climbed.
To your health,
Coach K
