This Ain’t Easy
Oct 24, 2007
This ain’t easy. This running. This training. This weather. This altitude. This sacrifice. This lifestyle. This loneliness. This endeavor. This profession, professional runner. All of this - it ain’t easy. (Pardon my poor English. I’m from Pittsburgh; I’m sure yinz won’t mind ‘n ‘at.) On my flight home from South Korea I sat next to a woman wearing a race t-shirt and carrying the latest issue of Runner’s World. “Mind if I flip through that?†I asked when she set it on the unoccupied seat between us. “No, go right ahead,†she said. Then added, “It’s a great issue.†Meb Keflezghi graces the cover. After breezing through the first few articles, the woman turned to me and asked, “Are you a runner?†“Sort of,†I replied, setting off a long running conversation. When I mentioned that I worked with some Kenyan athletes, she pressed her hand against her tray table and sighed, “Oh man, they’re so fast. It’s just so easy for them. They cross the line and are smiling! Can you imagine? Me, I’m pooped, bent over at the waste gulping for air.†“It ain’t easy,†I said to myself. “Yea, I know,†I said out loud. If only she could have been in Boulder with me last week, to watch Baba run a 30K at Speed 3. Maybe then she’d have a different perspective. Maybe not. Perhaps she would need to stay for a week, or even a month, to understand the physical, mental, and emotional investment that these athletes make. Of course, she could also just read the website…Maybe then she’d realize - this ain’t easy. I know many of you enjoy the running videos with upbeat music. They inspire and motivate you. They help you get out the door for your own training. They help you pass the time on the treadmill. You picture Baba floating along at Speed 3. You pretend you’re Maiyo hammering out a 40K at Mags. I know these things because you send me emails saying so. But I tried something different this time. Where you draw inspiration from upbeat music combined with good running footage, I draw mine from the effort I physically feel riding alongside the athletes. When I film, there’s no music. Just rhythmic footsteps, shallow breathing, piercing facial expressions, and the contrast between Dieter’s excited encouragement (â€ÂÂTen k thirty-two thirty!â€ÂÂ) followed next by his calm prodding (â€ÂÂThat’s very nice Baba. It’s good speed. Juuuuuust keep going.â€ÂÂ). All of the footage in this video came from Baba’s hard 30K. At the start of the run the weather was chilly, but overall not bad for October in Boulder. But by 10K things started to spiral downward. Fast. The temperature dropped at least ten degrees and the wind surged down from the foothills. For most of the second half of the run, we drove slowly so Baba could tuck in behind the truck. I was in the backseat, just an arms length away. It was intense. It was inspiration. It was fun. But most of all, it was clear - this ain’t easy. So crank up the volume and get lost in the experience seen through my eyes…or viewfinder.
