Again, and Again, and Again

“Just Do It,” says the Nike campaign ad. I imagine a room full of clever people—copywriters, editors, graphic designers, advertising executives—tossing out ideas rapid fire, searching for that one short, punchy, memorable statement that captures the imagination and the essence of the brand, and they did it; they gave us—Just Do It.
 Just Do It. I like this phrase because, in so many ways, it works for runners.
Want to start running, but you’re afraid of how you will look, or if you can actually manage to run? Just Do It. Want to run your first 5K? Just Do It. Want to move up from the 5K to the 10K? the 10K to the Half Marathon? Just Do It. Thinking about running a marathon? Just Do It. Want to run faster? Farther? More efficiently?  Run a PR? Just Do It.
Of course, “Just Do It” is Just The Beginning. Once you have decided to Do It, nothing can stop you except yourself. After you have made the decision, you can start a training plan, seek advice, read magazines, watch videos, join a club, hire a coach, or you can just do it and see what happens.
And often what happens is that running grows on you. Maybe it’s the results—the increased fitness, the feeling of freedom, the lowered heart rate and blood pressure, the sense of accomplishment, and the lost weight. After a while, though, it’s the running itself that you look forward to because running has become fun—yes, fun, at least it’s pleasurable enough that you want to keep doing it. So, when I saw a new Nike T-shirt last week, it seemed to be speaking just to me. Just to runners. The T-shirt read:
Just Do It
   Again.
This is what runners do. We go out for a run. And then the next day, or the next, or the next, we do it again. And, then, we do it again. If we race in a 5K or 10K, we enjoy that accomplishment, review it, analyze it, and dissect it. And then, sometime later, we do it again. We might simply enjoy racing, want to run a better time, try a new course, or help out a worthy cause. Whatever the reason, we do it again. We might run half marathons, marathons, even ultramarathons, and then, later, we do it again. Even when people tell us we’re crazy; they say running is painful; running is hard; they say, “I hate running,” and “I can’t even run around the block.” And they simply ask, “Why?”
 It’s hard to explain why we do it because it can be painful, and it can be hard, and very often it is crazy. But there must be something to it because we keep running.
Again, and again, and again.
Gotta run,
Craig Lore