My running manifesto

Some two or three years back, as my fitness was if not shot to hell, at least way below what I wished it to be, I decided to start running.

Right now, looking back, I see the progress I have made since then. I can run longer, and I can run faster. Well, of course I can – these facts are neither very surprising nor interesting. What’s more interesting though, is that I now, three years down the road, find myself with an almost radically different perspective to running.

It’s not what it used to be. The physical of running has somehow merged with the spiritual of meditation. And I think they will prove a happy couple.

Today I wrote a running manifesto, and without further ado, here it is.

My running manifesto

I will try to fully be in each and every moment, from the first step and on through to the very last. I will be present to my surroundings; I will feel the heat of the sun and the biting cold of the wind, I will hear the whisper of the autumn leaves and I will see the faces of all those whose path crosses mine. But not only to things external will I be there. My attention will also be upon my own body and spirit. On the moving in and out of the breath, on the legs and arms tracing their curves in space, and on the never-ending trains of thoughts arising in my mind and moving away in the distance.

I will direct my feet on this worn-in path that countless times have been threaded before me. I will boldly go where my intuition invites me, and I will neither hesitate to re-thread my own favourite paths again and yet again, nor will I be afraid to follow it into the unexplored.

I will remember that speed or distance or time or any other sought-after external measurement never is primary, but always a by-product of what is really key and what always comes first: the form of running itself. My primary motivation will always be of this intrinsic kind; running will be its own reward. I trust that as my knowledge of the form deepens and as my body aligns with this newfound knowledge, speed, distance and time will follow.

I will envy no runner faster than me, nor will I hold contempt for anyone slower – I will respect them both highly and equally, and just as gently will I step aside to be passed, as I myself will step aside to pass.

I will know, that when competing, it’s really me I’m up against. I will see my competitors not as enemies but as companions, and just as I offer my help to them, I will accept theirs and use it towards reaching my goals.

I will always hold a smile on my lips and a lightness in my heart. And even when the body is tired and beaten, this lightness will transcend and shine through the physical pain. In the end, when the physical eventually fails and can go no further, I will gently embrace it and honour it for its faithful service.

I will know, that in this, running becomes more than a metaphor for life; it becomes an homage to life itself.

I will hold this manifesto true to my heart, and should I stray from it, I pray to have the consciousness to not beat myself up but to instead pick myself up, and again head in the right direction.

And there will always be a smile on my face, because I will know that I’m running for life.