The Gift...

I had the privilege recently to spend some time with runner and author Janet Hamilton. The entire time we were together she kept repeating the phrase, "The gift of running..." The more I meditate on Janet's words the more I realize what a precious gift it is to be able to run (move). I have noticed more and more individuals having a terribly difficult time moving. I see people with walkers in the mall, electric shopping carts in the grocery store, and people who just seem to grimace each time they take a step. My heart breaks for these people because I know it was not always this way for them.

In my own life I have noticed a dramatic shift in the how I move. In the last 20 years I had gained a total of 100 pounds. I say had because I'm working every day to shed these pounds. However, I am working even harder to understand what caused me to gain this weight in the first place--a question much of America is wrestling to answer each day. I'm not lazy. I'm not a bad person. I'm not any of the things we falsely attribute to the obese. However, as I come to grips with my own personal struggle with weight and the issues behind it, I realize my issue could just be rooted in a misunderstanding of the "Gift" Janet was referring to.

There have been hundreds of thousands of pages written in literature on the parables of lost gifts, misunderstood gifts and gifts one possessed all along but didn't know it. I don't dare try to write my own now. However, with the gift of running, or movement, I have come to realize that like any good gift it must be appreciated. I remember one Christmas receiving a really nice tie clip. At the time I was not wearing ties much so I just tossed it the drawer. However, later I took a new job that required I professional. I immediately knew I had a great tie clip to wear and I would look great. The problem was, I had no idea where this gift had last been placed. I searched and searched and could never find it. I thought I knew exactly where I had left it, but it was gone. It was not until I had some outside help step in and guide me, did I have a chance to find that gift.

For many people this is how it is with our fitness level and our ability to move pain free and the freedom that accompanies it. They think (I thought) my ability to move was right there safe and sound, only to discover that when I needed it, it was gone. This realization is sad and discouraging and the pain often causes many (including me at times) to stay where I am and not want to work to get my gift back. Resignation is a sorrowful emotion and will overtake us in a heartbeat if we let it. I have found the solution is to be around others who are looking for, caring for, and sharing their gift, to help us find our gift again.

My hope for you this day would be to find someone near you and help them find their gift of movement again. It can be a friend, a child, an entire class full of kids, an elderly person, someone who was once fit but has lost it. Just find someone and help them to find their gift by sharing yours. Some of my best runs have been when I have slowed way down and encouraged a new runner. They are so excited to finish a mile or a 5k or whatever distance and are so grateful you sacrificed and ran with them to help them. What they don't realize is the big secret is when we share our gift with others, our gift is replenished even bigger than it was before.

The next time you are in the mall or the grocery store or wherever, and you see someone who is struggling to move. Please don't judge them for their size or how they look. Look upon them with the eyes of compassion, with the eyes of someone who has a precious gift share and wants to help them find their own.

I promise if you do this your life will be blessed as runner.
Finish Strong,
Coach Bill