We all love inspirational stories and we desperately seek out these inspirational stories. One of my favorite movies is Remember the Titans because I find it so inspirational. What makes the movie special is because at the end you say to yourself “and it is a true story”, which in itself makes it more unbelievable and inspiring.
We all seek out inspiration. We attend religious services weekly hoping to hear a good uplifting and meaningful sermon. During this difficult time we need all the inspiration we can get.
Inspirational people and stories are not found just on the big screen or at a Sunday service. Inspirational people are all around us if we just take the time to listen and watch. In fact those inspirational people of everyday life are more impactful than any found on the big screen.
If you read a previous blog post you know I fell into running as a way to get back into shape with a very short term and limited perspective. It was all about me and nothing else. Yet something happened to me along the way that caught me pleasantly off guard. I met and saw total strangers who inspired me just by being in their presence. It seems everyone comes to a race, particularly the longer and more grueling races, with a story and most go untold.
It is funny I am inspired by people who’s names I do not even know, but their determination and courage inspired me to keep going during difficult times. My encounter with them was very brief and I know it was of no significance to them. Here are two that have stayed with me.
It was at just before the start of a Spartan Race when the starter told us two stories. One was about a man who had brain cancer and a couple of months before he died he completed a Spartan. Not to be callous or anything, while that was a great story and it moved me, it did not inspire me because I did not see the person and it was just a story.
Then he told us that as we ran this race we would see a woman on the race who had brittle bone disease and who could get seriously hurt with any fall. He ended by saying there might come a time we want to quit and that our excuse would have to surpass theirs. I knew at that moment I would finish the race.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Spartan Races, they are brutal obstacle courses that test your strength and endurance by lifting and carrying heavy objects such as buckets of gravel, sandbags, or dragging blocks around. So completing this when healthy is a feat but doing it in the final stages of cancer or with any chronic disease is amazing. To top it all off, it is on ski slope so it is all hills and more demanding.
After that inspirational sendoff, I started the race and completely forgot about that woman. As I continued on the race, I was in my own world when I stumbled upon this woman on a rugged part of the hill moving very slowly with a group of people. She was weaker than the other participants that was obvious. I then heard people shouting words of encouragement to her. She was obviously struggling like we all were but she waved to everyone and smiled broadly. I remember the smile in the face of danger. I realized then she was the woman with brittle bone disease and I too yelled encouragement and as I continued on the race, I felt stronger just seeing her effort. If she could give that much of an effort so can I. This race was years ago but she is still with me even though I saw her for only 30-40 seconds.
In the winter I usually do a couple of half marathons with the NJ Trail Series. These are beautiful but rugged trail races with many hills so there is a lot of up and down on these rough trails. To top it all off, it is in January and February so it is always cold, sometimes bitterly cold. One year I started a race when the temperature was at “0” degrees. This race was also cold in the 20’s and before the start we are all jumping up and down and moving our arms in order to stay warm. I like people watching at races because it is always an interesting cast of characters. I looked over and I saw a pretty young woman with one of those Norwegian ski hats with the braids coming down, but what struck me was that she had on eye black like a football player going into battle. Not only that, but she had the biggest smile, she was almost giddy.
Once again, I went off on my race enjoying this familiar trail on this cold day. On this half marathon you do two loops and I was coming to the end of my second loop about a mile and the half from the finish line when I came up to the woman and her boyfriend moving slowly, she had crutches. We exchanged encouraging words and she was still smiling broadly.
When I got to the finish line the race director asked me where they were and I told him and I added that she is moving very slowly. I asked what her story was and he said he didn’t have the complete story but she was in a serious car accident and couldn’t really run and was still recovering.
I was a bit worried about her but assumed that she would just stop at the halfway point and take a time for the 10k. The next day I checked my time and place and then realized that there were two people who were four hours behind the last finisher and it was them. She had done the entire half marathon in the cold and I should point out that she was in the cold pretty much all day. I couldn’t believe her courage and determination, while the rest of us were between 90 minutes and 3 hours she was almost 6 hours behind the next to last finisher.
I am pretty sure that neither woman was thinking about inspiring other people. They were dealing with their own medical and health issues. That is the funny thing about racing and going all out, in inspires people. I have had a few people come up to me who have seen my race posts and say literally you inspire me and I am now starting to exercise. My thought is “Me? What am I overcoming that would inspire you?” Then it hit me, what they are really saying is that if an old guy like you can do it than I can too.
What stands out about these two women is that despite attempting an event that they both knew would push them to their limits they were smiling. You can’t push yourself to your limits and achieve without a positive mind set and nothing is more positive than a smile.
This may be what I miss most about races that were cancelled due to the pandemic, the opportunity to see people who are pushing themselves to their limit. There is almost always someone there doing whatever race distance it is for the first time. While I have done virtual races to keep running it is not the same.
Yes, you can go to Hollywood for inspiration or a TV evangelist but for me go to obstacle race, half marathon, or even a 10K and I know you will find it up close and personal. You will learn that inspiration is all around you and that it doesn’t take long to absorb it. You will also learn that it will change you. It will push you more and make you a more positive person.
