Community
Today, I'm going to pontificate about community, and especially the running community. Now, no decent post relating to a word would be complete without a definition, so I visited Merriam Webster for a quick visit to my favorite online dictionary. Without copying the whole definition, we find 3 main definitions:
1: a unified body of individuals
2: society at large
3: joint ownership or participation / common character / social activity or state
Now, what is meant by the running community? Is it just current runners? Do former runners count? What about racewalkers? (Racewalking is an olympic sport governed by USATF in the USA and IAAF internationally.) Are ordinary walkers included? And, since we share bond of self-propulsion (and a similar level of common danger in the careless driver), what about cyclists? My point here isn't to belabor the definition, suffice to say, I tend to define the community of runners rather broadly.
I try to foster the sense of community when I can. I wave to other runners, say hello when I can. Try, if possible to share a nice or amusing thought. And try not to belittle the efforts of others. One thing I remember was Grete Waitz commenting after she ran the New York Marathon with a cancer-ridden Fred Lebow on how grueling it was for her to run at that (slow) pace. Those runners (and walkers) who are moving slower than you are may well be undergoing a more grueling personal test than any you'll ever face. I try to support them with a smile and a kind word.
Over the years, many runners have been very generous to me with their gifts, sharing motivation, advice, tips and coaching just to name a few. I've been blessed to have them share with me and I try to give back often. Many times it's in little ways, but I try to do several bigger things each year as well.
When pledging my fraternity in college, we learned a poem entitled "The Bridge Builder." You can find the poem here, go to the section titled "Closing" and you'll find the poem followed by an interesting story about the poet. It's worth a read and conveys the sense of obligation we should all feel toward our fellow runners (and neighbors/friends/men).
This post was inspired by a comment to my Open Letter of a few days back. If I understand correctly, it was aimed at Dirt Runner (and I'll try to get it to his attention). In it, the anonymous poster does an excellent job of describing the gift that he (she?) received from those mentoring him (her?) in his (her?) charity marathon program. An excerpt follows:
"(I) didn't know any other runners in my area that would run my pace or help me succeed in my dream of running a marathon. Saw the ad and joined a charity. I worked hard, very hard to get ready for my marathon. I ran 3 days during the week on my own and the long run on the weekend with the group. They kept me going when I was sore, tired, and not sure I could do it."
We are a community. Help your community to progress by teaching those around you a better way to do something. If they do something wrong on the track, teach them the right way (and at most tracks, normal practice is that faster runners get the inside lane, but passers move outside - if you're about to be passed, DON'T EVER STEP OUT AT THE LAST INSTANT! - it's a formula for collisions). Share your gifts with others - you never know when a small act will make a big difference to someone!
1: a unified body of individuals
2: society at large
3: joint ownership or participation / common character / social activity or state
Now, what is meant by the running community? Is it just current runners? Do former runners count? What about racewalkers? (Racewalking is an olympic sport governed by USATF in the USA and IAAF internationally.) Are ordinary walkers included? And, since we share bond of self-propulsion (and a similar level of common danger in the careless driver), what about cyclists? My point here isn't to belabor the definition, suffice to say, I tend to define the community of runners rather broadly.
I try to foster the sense of community when I can. I wave to other runners, say hello when I can. Try, if possible to share a nice or amusing thought. And try not to belittle the efforts of others. One thing I remember was Grete Waitz commenting after she ran the New York Marathon with a cancer-ridden Fred Lebow on how grueling it was for her to run at that (slow) pace. Those runners (and walkers) who are moving slower than you are may well be undergoing a more grueling personal test than any you'll ever face. I try to support them with a smile and a kind word.
Over the years, many runners have been very generous to me with their gifts, sharing motivation, advice, tips and coaching just to name a few. I've been blessed to have them share with me and I try to give back often. Many times it's in little ways, but I try to do several bigger things each year as well.
When pledging my fraternity in college, we learned a poem entitled "The Bridge Builder." You can find the poem here, go to the section titled "Closing" and you'll find the poem followed by an interesting story about the poet. It's worth a read and conveys the sense of obligation we should all feel toward our fellow runners (and neighbors/friends/men).
This post was inspired by a comment to my Open Letter of a few days back. If I understand correctly, it was aimed at Dirt Runner (and I'll try to get it to his attention). In it, the anonymous poster does an excellent job of describing the gift that he (she?) received from those mentoring him (her?) in his (her?) charity marathon program. An excerpt follows:
"(I) didn't know any other runners in my area that would run my pace or help me succeed in my dream of running a marathon. Saw the ad and joined a charity. I worked hard, very hard to get ready for my marathon. I ran 3 days during the week on my own and the long run on the weekend with the group. They kept me going when I was sore, tired, and not sure I could do it."
We are a community. Help your community to progress by teaching those around you a better way to do something. If they do something wrong on the track, teach them the right way (and at most tracks, normal practice is that faster runners get the inside lane, but passers move outside - if you're about to be passed, DON'T EVER STEP OUT AT THE LAST INSTANT! - it's a formula for collisions). Share your gifts with others - you never know when a small act will make a big difference to someone!
posted by Scooter at 10:47 AM
1 Comments:
This is a great post!
When I was in grad school, I ran 2-3 mornings a week in a park near my apartment. I saw the same runners and walkers (and dogs) all the time, and it was a great informal community--everyone smiled and said hello, exchanged small talk and tips, etc. I still think about those days and smile. Runners in my current neighborhood are not nearly as friendly and open, and I find that I really miss the simple act of exchanging hellos and smiles. Community does matter!
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