That's character. That's you.

 

Niet Zonder Arbyt 

Running is about everything and anything apart from running, and once you realize that, and once the penny drops, it will be so obvious that it frees up your mind to many many opportunities and what I mean by that is running is who you are, it's your work ethic, it's your tenacity, your drive, dedication, determination, it's your consistency and discipline, it's your understanding of delayed gratification... all of those things make up character and a way more useful outside of running than inside of running, but will serve you really well in running.

So what you're essentially doing when you're training is you're building mental strength and, as a byproduct, physically you're improving, physiologically you're improving, but the primary goal is to build mental strength. That's why I love running so much. If it was just about you moving over the ground, it wouldn't be as interesting, but it's the mental strength that you build. 

 

Who are you when nobody's watching?

You are there on your own and it makes absolutely no sense because a lion is not chasing you; you don't have to run for food, you've got money in your pocket, you could go to the shop and get enough calories. It doesn't make sense for us as human beings, but it's a test of character and if you visualize long, lonely periods of time on your own where you're thinking 'Who am I? What am I all about? Who am I when nobody's watching?', that's character. And if you can tap into that side and understand that for the next hours it's just me versus me, and not only am I gonna get through it, but I'm also gonna embrace it and I'm gonna embody everything that running is about: the work ethic, the tenacity, the consistency, the discipline... that's the most important thing about running.

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