The common man reaches excellence by making demands on himself.
My legend will not be your legend. We are about the business of making a unique self.
The battle is never over. The war is never won. Today's bare landscape is always and ever the arena where I contend with myself. I say my prayers and go to combat.
No one else may be aware of this struggle.
The only true fame, is the inner celebration of yourself. Nothing else lasts. Legends are perpetually dying. They must constantly be revived. We must always be searching for the grail, never ceasing in our labors, forever on trial for our gift of existence.
People are always asking me why I run. I think that is a common question for a lot of runners actually. I see lots of blog posts on it. I think George Sheehan's first quote I posted is a great answer to why some people train to run. It's an answer that puts the question back onto the asker about themselves - what are they doing to make themselves excellent? Endurance can do that... enduring a serious illness, enduring a life-threatening circumstance, enduring difficult situations in life... can all help you to find your answer. I like to think that the demands we ask in our running schedules and endurance races whittle us down to our very selves. And there we have the opportunity to see who we really are.
Link to full article: Our Highest Need
I always enjoy reading the 'why I run' on blogs as well. Thanks for posting the comment on my upcoming races. I am definitely still considering The North Face Challenge in Madison in Sept. I'll see how my next two 50M races go first. Sounds like it would be a fun race for sure!
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