Running long distances can create a plethora of feelings and
emotions. Everything from feelings of
excitement, exhaustion, and pain, to anxiety, optimism, and accomplishment. While running a marathon, runners often
experience a whirlwind of emotions that leaves them feeling like they lived a
whole year in just a few hours when they cross the finish line. In addition to abundant training and conditioning,
there is another action that is required by runners to be successful in long
distance running; they need to laugh.
Anyone who has been a long distance runner for long enough knows that
there is no shortage of funny moments in the sport. A key element in running is experiencing the
humor and creating fond memories with friends and family that can be shared and
treasured for a lifetime.
On the morning of July 4th, 2017 Janet, Brady,
and I ran a fourth of July themed 10-K with some of Janet’s coworkers. To our delight, we noticed that there were a
lot of older people who looked to be in their seventies and eighties
participating. They weren’t all moving swiftly,
but they were out there making it happen.
Seeing them also triggered funny memories of how we saw so many naked
elderly men when we ran Bay to Breakers six weeks prior. When the post race email from the Bay to
Breakers organization was sent out to the participants advising them that the
race photos were available, Janet and I were appalled, but then we were
laughing like hyenas when we saw the action photos of her during the race. There she was, dog leash in hand, and
standing behind her to the left in plain view was a gentleman who looked to be
in his mid-seventies in his birthday suit, full frontal, looking on as if
nothing was amiss. We couldn’t stop
laughing. If we had tried to share that
photo on Facebook or other social media sites, it would have been flagged and
removed immediately. Later that day on
July 4th, we congregated at Janet’s mother’s house. We’re always thinking of clever ways to mess
with Mom so we decided it would be hilarious to show her the outrageous photo
of Janet from Bay to Breakers. She
immediately began laughing which made us laugh along. We then proceeded to watch TV and looked back
at Mom a few minutes later to find that she was still staring at the photo. We just looked at her until she looked up at
us and we began laughing hysterically.
Mom loved it. We did too!
I too have had my fair share of botched race photos. Sometimes I’m not ready for the camera and a
picture will be taken of me with my eyes closed or my tongue out. The funniest race photo I’ve ever had was
when Janet, our friend Anthony, and I ran Revel Mount Charleston, a half
marathon near Las Vegas. We arrived the
night before, had a delicious dinner, and woke up at 3:45 AM on race morning. The course was primarily downhill and
followed a mountain road from part of the way up Mount Charleston down into the
city. Janet, Anthony, and I split up
throughout the race but during the last mile, I spotted Anthony in front of me
and pulled up next to him. He was
hurting but he was still moving pretty good.
We shuffled along together towards the finish line and just as we
crossed, a photographer was on the sidelines.
As we ran by, I smiled and threw my arms in the air. I didn’t think anything of it until a few
days later when the race photos were posted online, I saw myself with my arms
in the air smiling, but Anthony was right next to me in the photo with a look
on his face like he was about to cry from excruciating pain. In a comical way, this photo did a perfect
job of capturing all the emotions felt from opposite ends of the spectrum. Late last year a few of my co-workers and I
ran a Tough Mudder race in Temecula. The
Tough Mudder is not your average foot race.
The course is ten to twelve miles long and contains several army style
obstacles. Getting through these obstacles
requires a team effort, and when the photos were posted, I noticed that as I
was helping my friend Zach over an obstacle, my palm was right on his rear
end. “Looks like someone is trying to
cop a feel” he said to me. “What can I
say? You’re sexy” I joked.
I’ve also had moments where I’ve been “that guy” while
running. One summer morning, I was on my
way down from Cucamonga peak on the Ice House Canyon trail when I spotted a
group of hikers about a hundred yards in front of me down the trail. In a flash of distraction, I tripped over a
rock and came crashing down on the trail right in front of them in the midst of
saying hello. The damage was nothing
more than a few scrapes and cuts and I got right back up and continued
onward. The hikers were speechless and
looked at me as if they had just seen a space alien. I ran by them grinning letting them know that
I was okay, trying to lighten the tone.
Throughout the rest of the run, I laughed to myself at my clumsiness and
made jokes to hikers who inquired about my bloody knee, saying things like
“Tell the kids this is what happens when you’re not careful” and jokingly
explaining that a hiker had tripped me because it angered him that I was going
faster than him.
Last July, I was finishing up my last leg of a relay trail
race near Lake Tahoe. Janet, myself, and
three of our friends were a five-person team participating in an eight-person
event known as Ragnar Tahoe. I was
finishing my thirty fifth mile of the race and although I was having a blast,
the cumulative miles and high altitude were taking a toll on me. With a quarter of a mile left to go, I ran
past spectators cheering me on and someone cracked open a Coors Light, handing
it to me as I ran by. I ran for about
fifty yards before taking a pull from the can when a guy who looked to be about
eighteen said “Chug! Chug!” I knew he was poking fun but in my discomfort from
the altitude sickness, I didn’t quite share this same attitude and I got a
little annoyed. “Dude, seriously? I just ran thirty-five miles I can’t chug
right now!” The guy laughed and
apologized. “It’s okay man, I’m just not
feeling my best right now” I sounded like a whiny teenager riddled with angst
and regretted getting so worked up.
After crossing the finish line, I finished the beer and although I felt a
little sick and light headed, I was overjoyed that I had just finished my last
leg and that we as a team would soon be finished. I laughed to myself about my grumpy response
to the kid on the side of the trail and the ridiculousness of how I got annoyed
over something so silly.
Between the signs created by LA Marathon spectators that
read “If Trump can run, so can you!” and being crammed into a two-person tent
with two other guys on Mount Shasta, I’ve had plenty of laughable moments
throughout my many adventures and I look forward to more. Humor is a key factor in developing an
attitude towards running. If you want to
have a good outlook on running, it is important to laugh at not only the funny
moments but also at yourself sometimes.
Running can be, among many things, painful. When we push our minds and bodies to their
limit, it isn’t always fun and we need the comedic moments to help make it all
worthwhile. Just like any other hobby,
it’s important to have fun while doing it.
Having fun and laughing creates a positive experience, an optimistic
attitude, and keeps us coming back for more.
So, when you’re out there and hurting, feeling like you can’t go any
further, try to laugh and smile. It goes
a long way and may be the key factor that gets you to the finish line!
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