But yeah, Ann [Trason] insisted, running was romantic; and no, of course her friends didn't get it because they'd never broken through. For them, running was a miserable two miles motivated solely by size 6 jeans: get on the scale, get depressed, get your headphones on, and get it over with. But you can't muscle through a five-hour run that way; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it.
Interpretation
Running can be a profound and enjoyable experience when approached with the right mindset.
In this quote, Christopher McDougall highlights the difference between a superficial approach to running, driven by external motivations like weight loss, and a deeper, more fulfilling experience found when one embraces the act of running. He suggests that true enjoyment in running comes from a mental and physical relaxation that transforms it from a chore into a deeply romantic and rewarding activity.
In practice
This quote could be shared during a marathon training session to inspire runners to find joy in the process.
Humans are built for endurance, not speed. We're awful sprinters compared to every other animal. We try to run our races as if they were speed races, but they are not. They're endurance races. Even a marathon, the way it's run now, it's not an endurance contest.
I have the idea that running shoes are based on a kind of cult idea - that our feet are flawed and we need shoes to correct those flaws. The shoe companies are in the business of selling shoes. But there's no evidence from running shoe manufacturers that they're right. There's no scientific data that running shoes reduce injury.
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.
Know why people run marathons? …Because running is rooted in our collective imagination, and our imagination is rooted in running. Language, art, science; space shuttles, Starry Night, intravascular surgery; they all had their roots in our ability to run. Running was the superpower that made us human — which means its a superpower all humans posses.
Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.
Anyone can do running. Running should be easy. It should be fun. It should include everyone. It shouldn't be a punishment for eating cheesecake, which is what we've turned it into.
Failure is not the outcome - failure is not trying. Don't be afraid to fail.
You and you alone are responsible for taking actions to create the life of your dreams. Nobody else can (or will) do it for you.
We can always redeem the man who aspires and strives.
If people are not laughing at your dreams at least once a week, you are aiming too low!
You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win.
Your will shall decide your destiny.
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