Sunday, November 18, 2012

Inside the Cult of Running - It's All Happy (& Kinda Cult-Like)

For most of my life, like most people, I was an onlooking on the world of running.  From where I was looking, and my little experience inside the world, it was terrible.  It was a painful, exhausting, tedious thing that was really just there to talk negatively about - all the ways it bores you, why you can't do it, the injuries it causes, blah blah blah.

If you're not a runner, you know exactly what I mean.  You do it, too.  We talk poorly of it.  We justify why we can't do it, and why it's not for us.  And we're right.  Right?

Sure.  Runners are skinny little beanpoles who don't get bored or injured.  They're not humans.  They're probably crazy.  That's it.  Right?

And then I read Born to Run, and let my mind open a bit.  I was so smitten by the book and drawn in by the way it portrays running that I had to give it a shot myself.  Running isn't painful, monotonous and dangerous in the book.  It's enlightening, joyful, freeing, and - if done right - pain-free (or minimally painful, and no more so than other exercises).

I tried it myself, and followed the minimalist style, and it was all it was cracked up to be.  I say "was" because I'm currently nursing a torn meniscus (not from running), so I'm sidelined for the time being (but not forever).

Once I got into it, I realized how great it was.  And then I subscribed to Runner's World. That's when I saw running from inside the world of running. It's amazing how different it looks once you step in.  People love it. They are uplifted by it. They support each other. They find it exciting.

It just hit me today when reading an article in Runner's World from a college student who suffers from a condition that seems to greatly limit her life.  She can run, and it's become this amazing source of empowerment and freedom for her as it's one of the few places she's not encumbered by her condition or inferior to others.  You'd never see that if you had stayed on the outside being judgmental.

Another thing I read in Runner's World was a reader question from a high school cross country team member who gets made fun of by the football team when they run by the football practice. The advice ended with suggestion the runner get a t-shirt that says, "My sport is what your sport does for punishment." That puts it in perspective - you're a bad a$$ for running, not a wuss.  Unfortunately, it's still a negative way of looking at things (and the author suggests as much, calling it not the ideal approach, and rather advocates the "ignore them and enjoy your run" approach instead).

This ties in beautifully with the teachings of Shawn Achor in The Happiness Advantage (you can get the 12 minute digest via his TEDx talk here). It's all about how we see the reality we're in, and how that perception can lead to better outcomes - people who think positively and look at things in a positive light do better. It's not Hippy new age thinking. It's actual, scientific-research-proven fact.

All this positivity and support within the world of runners is akin to a cult. Everyone believes. Outsiders don't understand.  I guess red Gatorade can look a lot like Kool-Aid, too.  But if it's a cult, it's a really good one, and I'm ecstatic to be a member.  Really, I feel honored and lucky to have found what running can really do.  As soon as I'm cleared by my doc, I'm ready to get back out there.

So, stay on the sidelines. Judge running negatively. Stay unhealthy and boxed in.  Or, open your mind. Try it again. Perhaps try it a different way that might work better for you. Smile. Have fun. Be positive and supportive.  enlighten.your.body.