Running can be a challenge
We have all
heard urban myths about how people find incredible strengths
when they are confronted with a life and death situation. I can
recall watching on black and white TV a story about an elderly
lady who ‘lifted’ a car when someone was trapped underneath.
‘Feats of super human strength’ was probably the uncanny name of
the show.
I recently
held a motivational dinner for a group of runners I am helping
to prepare for the Gold Coast Airport Marathon. The guest
speaker was
Gerard Gosens who has been blind since birth.
Gerard is
currently the deputy CEO for the Royal Blind Foundation
Queensland. He climbed to Mt Everest base camp 3 and will be
returning in the near future with every intention to be the
first blind person (from birth) to conquer the Mountain. Gerard
has run a Sub 3hr Marathon and immediately before he spoke at
our dinner he ran 9min 9sec for 3k on a treadmill.
Gerard’s list of achievements goes on.
So what's
so impressive about Gerard?
Any fully able
bodied individual would be classed as reasonably exceptional if
they had achieved similar feats to Gerard. How much should we
therefore be in awe by the fact that a blind person can do all
of this?
I have always
thought of Gerard as an extraordinary person however I have
wondered lately if the fact that he is blind, the fact he is
challenged, is the reason he is exceptional and possessed with
such a desire to take life by the horns.
What if
Gerard was not blind?
I wonder if
Gerard Gosens had not been born blind if he would have achieved
so much to date. I wonder if the fact that Gerard was challenged
from birth is what has enabled him to reach within and to have
such a desire to not let life pass by without achieving.
Running can be
a challenge if you set a goal which will require some effort. I
recently asked a runner (Gary) what he wished to achieve at the
Coast and when he advised that he was not out to break any
records with his Sub 4.30 Marathon goal, I reassured him that
breaking records is not what it is all about. Setting yourself a
challenging goal and doing your best to achieve it
is.
Satisfaction
and accomplishment
The majority
of runners I deal with are people just like Gary who have
previously devoted a great deal of time to their family and/or
career and have reached a point in their lives where they feel a
need for a greater quality of life. Satisfaction and
accomplishment may no longer be provided in their current ‘well
established’ lives.
Some people
discover that running can provide an additional quality of life
through improved fitness and achieving goals. This can bring an
improved state of mind and a new sense of accomplishment.
Completing a
10k/Half Marathon or Marathon may be a difficult task for a
great deal of people. It is a challenge though and maybe all you
need is to be confronted by that challenge, to grab it by the
horns and as a result you may just find that super human
strength.
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