For The Haters

It turns out not everyone is excited for my marathon goal. This past week, I ran into my first Negative Nancy who called me crazy for wanting to run 26.2 miles. What could possibly be the purpose of this insane, useless feat? At first, I was shocked. I'm sure many people have had this same negative reaction but they kept it to themselves. Of course, I prefer my friend's honesty over a polite smile-and-nod. I guess I expected the same cheerful, positive, and supportive response I'd been getting since I signed up for the LA Marathon a couple of weeks ago. Then I remembered how I used to feel about long distance running. The old Briana was the mayor of Downer Town. It's all about perspective.

Which is why I immediately headed to the nearest Barnes & Noble for a third dose of running Inspiration. Where would I find more books on running? Hmm...biographies, perhaps? Those are mostly of political figures or old, alcoholic movie stars. Oh, maybe Health & Fitness. Nope. Just rows of books dedicated to the latest fad diet or "dance yourself thin" book, complete with DVD and inflatable balance ball. Where the F were all the running books? Was "Born To Run" a fluke? Something I found out about only through watching the Daily Show? Finally, my journey was complete. A section never before perused by a former Miss Understood Teen USA; the Sports section. Riiiiight. Running is a sport. Of course.

I scanned the shelves for the best possible purchase. One book was endorsed by some running association, another book written by the former editor of this running magazine. Two books both claimed to be the Complete guide to running for Women; how would I choose? That's when I saw "50/50". The guy on the cover was NOT smiling in a sun-lit color-coordinated outfit, wind blowing through his hair. He was a real guy running a real race. Fifty real races, actually. Dean Karnazes had a dream. To run fifty marathons in fifty states...in fifty days. It sounded absolutely nuts! There had to be a catch of some kind. I didn't recall anyone with that name dying recently so maybe he had actually accomplished his insane goal. His dream became a reality and then he wrote a book about it. I just HAD to read it.

It's an amazing story of an average guy who just happens to be in the kind of shape where he runs 26 or 27 miles both Saturday and Sunday, every weekend, as his normal workout. He'd already run two hundred miles in one run and every year he runs a 100 mile race in extreme environments. No biggie. He also started a foundation called Karno's Kids, with the goal of teaching kids the value of running in order to fight child obesity, an enormous epidemic among America's kids (pun intended). As I read the stories of teacher's across the country following his Endurance 50 races, building lesson plans for their students, and the runner's who were inspired to drive hours to run in the Endurance 50 marathon closest to their hometowns, it became more difficult to keep my eyes from gettin' all misty.

It was Chapter Six, United We Run, that I found the inspiration I was looking for.

"I love to interact with people when they are most exposed -- when every layer of pretension and vanity has been stripped away and left strewn along the pathway. The marathon mercilessly rips off the outer layers of our defenses and leaves the raw human, vulnerable and naked. It is here you get an honest glimpse into the soul of an individual. Every insecurity and character flaw is open and on display for all the world to see. No communication is ever more real, no expression ever more honest. There is nothing left to hide behind. The marathon is the great equalizer. Every movement, every word spoken and unspoken, is radiant truth. The veil has been obliterated. These are the profound moments of human interaction that I live for."

THIS is why I want to run. Sure, I could toil away on the treadmill for the rest of my life, like a good little hamster, until all my fat melted away. Or I could run like I mean it. Isn't the choice obvious? I guess if you're naturally thin, exercise doesn't even occur to you. But when you've lived life a bit harder, tried whatever was put in front of you, and came out the other side lazy and lumpy, the time comes to step it up a notch. Get back to basics. And other cliches that only exist because they are true. That's what I want. Radiant truth. My starting line? Dodger Stadium, March 20th, 2011. I invite all the Negative Neils and Debbie Downers to come on down and see what they are made of. Or maybe you already know and don't need a marathon to show you the way. If so, you're lucky. I'm only at the beginning of my journey. And I won't stop until I'm living my life with honesty, stripped of my vanities, for all the world to see.