Run Your Race

Categories: Uncategorized Apr 02, 2014

When I was in high school and I ran track, I had one particular track meet that I have never forgotten. I was going to run the 400 meter race. Before the race started, during warm-ups, a kid from a competing school "befriended" me. We exchanged small talk about what events we were running and so on. Not too long into the conversation he asked me, "How fast is your 400?" I answered and then returned the question to him, in which he replied, "I can run it in about 48 seconds."

Wow. At that time, 1992, for a high school kid in my area, he was blazing a trail! We continued to talk a little more, but I could not get over the fact that he was running a 48 second 400 meter. So, I dropped out of that event. I rationalized that I couldn't come close to running 48 seconds and I could simply enter another event.

When the time came for the 400 meter race, I watched this young stallion blaze a trail. He easily won the 400 meter race; in about 55 seconds. What? Not only did I back out of the race, I could have won that race against that time. Not only that, but even if I had lost to my new "friend", I could have placed and ran well against the other 7 competitors. But no, I never even got into the race. I was beaten before it started.

That was over 30 years ago and I still remember it as if it just happened. I cannot go back in time and undo what I DID NOT DO, but I can learn from it. There are so many important lessons in this story:

1. Run your race. Win, lose, or draw. Running is winning. If you do not run, you cannot win. The only way you can lose is to simply not begin. I lost that day because I did not run.

2. Don't let other people get into your head. Especially wolves who pretend to be sheep. That young man had no intention of being my friend. He was only out to devour. He was playing a mind game and he won. I let him in my head. I could only "see" him beating me in his created scenario. I never even considered the other 7 competitors. Again, he won. I lost. And I never stepped one foot on that track.

3. Know who you are. When I saw the race, and when I saw him win in the mid 50-something seconds, I knew I could have beaten him. But it did not matter. I let him win because I forgot who I was. I knew I could run fast. I knew I was able. I knew this before I met him. But, when I met him, I forgot who I was and what I knew I could do. I lost sight of who I was.

4. It just doesn't matter. It didn't matter if this guy was Michael Johnson, I should have ran. I should have stepped up and simply ran. He could beat me. So what. He could beat me by a quarter of a lap. So what. He was living. I was watching. It is far better to run and lose than not to run. It is far better to live. It doesn't matter what others think. It doesn't matter what others say. All that matters is that you are living - experiencing life, joy, and freedom. That is what matters.

What is the point to all of this?

Run your race. People will try to get into your head. They will try to make you feel insecure. They will elevate themselves. They will point at distractions to disorient you from what you know. They will lay snares and trip lines to make you stumble. They will shout. They will roar. They will huff and puff.

Why?

Because they don't want you to run. If you run, they know you will win. Don't let people in your head. If they can get into your head, they will creep down into your heart and this is where they can make you stumble.

Just run. Keep running. Know who you are. Don't listen to the noise. Hold your head up. Look up, and run on. Or, crawl, if you want. Run or crawl, if you are in the race, you are winning.

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