24 Mar Run Your Own Race
Moss Jackson, PhD
Psychologist and Success Coach
Welcome once again to my blog series “Navigating For Success.”
My mission in this series of posts, video webinars, books and coaching is to be a resource for you to live an exceptional life, one of extraordinary success, accomplishment and happiness.
RUN YOUR OWN RACE
Today’s theme has to do with a most important theme in living life as a Navigator: run your own race and live into your dream. Don’t settle for playing it too safe, as it may cost you your life. Really, you don’t want to eventually be lying on your death bed and lamenting the fact that you sold out or did not take that chance to live your dream, do you?
ED WHITLOCK
Run your race at your pace and go the distance. That was the motto of at least one man, Ed Whitlock, who recently died at age 86 of prostate cancer. You see, Ed was a runner who loved to run long distances. He ran without a coach, or formal training routine, moving along in his 15 year old running shoes in a cemetery, racing alone in high spirit.
RUN FOR THE LOVE OF IT
Ed did not run for his health, nor eat a particularly healthy diet. He ran “for the real feeling of enjoyment.” At the age of 85, he set the world’s record for the fastest marathon time for someone over 80 years with a time of 3 hours, 56 minutes and 34 seconds.
According to Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon, “His performances were so far out there beyond what anyone has done or could imagine,” And “He ran for higher reasons—he ran for himself. In the end that’s why we all run. He was a pure athlete, following his own drummer.”
The running journalist, Marc Bloom, said that Mr. Whitlock was “the world’s best athlete for his age.” He did not seriously take up long distance running until his 14 year old son invited him to go running together. The last time he ran competitively was in high school at which time he ran a 4:34 mile.
I admire Ed Whitlock for a number of reasons: he ran about the same time I ran as a high school runner and he was about my height and weight. Most importantly, though, he ran for the hell of it. I too, ran for the hell of it. I just lived to run. Rather shy, not a very good student and low in confidence, I ran because I loved it. I ran all the time. I ran to school, to the track, back home, through town at all hours, in the cemetery where my father worked. I ran on Jewish Holidays, much to the chagrin of my mother. Fortunately, she could not run very fast so she never caught me.
LIVE INTO YOUR VISION
I now feel inspired to give running another shot, even though my body cries out to have a snack, watch TV and lounge out on my couch. What a treat it would be to do a long distance run at age 86 just for the love of it. It’s great to have an inspired vision to live into.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
How about you? Are you running on the track called your life? Do you have a dream to live into? Might you have an old pair of sneakers or some other tool in your toolkit to increase your pace and passion a bit? Perhaps your passion is painting, cooking, writing, acting or gardening. Whatever it is, get inspired by people like Ed Whitlock to run your own race because you just love doing it.
PASSION
In my book “Navigating For Success: Passion, Goals and Action” I write about Passion, the key firepower of Life Navigators. One key quality of Life Navigators is that they trust their passions and do not wait until they have time. They make the time to do what they love. So, I invite you to look inside yourself, ignite a dormant passion and start taking action. Live life as a Life Navigator, someone committed to living an exceptional life of success, accomplishment and happiness.
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