Running while being super cool By Robert “the Lone Runner” Rayder
Today I will Do what others Won’t So Tomorrow I can Accomplish what others Can’t.
with a trip through the foolish. One such example in my world are my biannual “Tough Guy Runs.” The idea behind the Tough Guy runs is simple. If you voluntarily choose to run in the most challenging weather conditions possible, then whatever conditions you find on race day are better than what you have already faced. It’s a huge psychological boost on a badweather race day. Thus, annually I choose to run on the hottest and coldest days my work schedule allows. Not only that – I run at the hottest or coldest hours within that day. In other words, I run in the worst possible conditions Mother Nature throws at me during any given year. Mother Nature, as you probably know, can get downright ugly in Memphis. If all this sounds crazy, things are both better and worse than you assume. On the “worse” side are the rules I impose on myself. A Tough Guy run must be at least one hour in duration. If there is a choice between a relatively more comfortable path and a less comfortable path, I always choose the path of maximum suffering. That means no shaded paths in summer, and no wind-sheltered trails in the winter. I force myself to experience the worst and most exposed pathway so that I can better appreciate even the smallest reprieve found on some future course. On the “better” side of this equation is the fact that I have no desire to die. I research and buy whatever I need to reduce the risks of what I’m doing. I have insulated and high-quality layers of clothing, Yaktrax ice grippers for my shoes, and thermal heat packs for my gloves and pockets to better conquer the winter. In summer I have an aid station set up at my house stocked with a cooler filled with ice water, electrolytes, drinks and towels to soak and carry with me as I run. Preparation is the key to safety, and I definitely spend a lot of time on preparation. I may be crazy, but I’m not insane. This winter, however, Mother Nature offered some unique winter-time options to put a new spin on my
—Jerry Rice
When you fancy yourself a long-distance runner, it helps to be a little crazy – or maybe a lot crazy. It has certainly paid off for me. The crazier my ideas, the better I do. That nonsensical philosophy has kept me running for almost a dozen years in a sport that my friends still insist is nothing but pure insanity. It’s doubly insane when you look like me physically, an overweight, balding, grey top that is the last person in the world you would expect to run in distance races. I run with neither the grace of the gazelle nor the splendor of the cheetah. Instead, I run more like a tank, a huge physical presence that just keeps on going forward no matter what gets in my way. I don’t get there fast, but I get there, and I’m almost impossible to stop. The key to this kind of running is developing a mental fortitude that can withstand the pain, the criticisms, and the uncertainties found in the sport, and in the world at large. I take pleasure when someone tells me that I can’t do something or that something is impossible “for a guy like you.” “For a guy like who?” I ask. “Am I too big, too old, too … whatever? How do you know?” After a moment like that I like to figure out a plan to get it done, then I do it. Most of the time I find out that something labelled “impossible for a guy like you” isn’t so much a matter of can’t, but rather it’s a matter of won’t. Sometimes it takes a lot, but almost always such challenges can be met if you’re willing to pay the price. The cost might be expensive, but it’s not impossible. If you look hard enough you will invariably find someone who is just like you who has done it before. All you have to do is find your own path. The path to the impossible almost always starts
I may be crazy, but I’m not insane.
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