Just Another Runner's Perspective (Words of Inspiration)

Just Another Runner’s Perspective January 2024 Written by Gale Fischer

Words of Inspiration

“One kind word can change someone’s entire day.”

1/16/2024: I sat on the spinning bike and I wiped the sweat from my face. I had just finished my forty-five minute workout and my breathing was returning to normal. The past six weeks had been filled with peaks and valleys of emotion. The holiday season, which is always a happy time of year, had passed, but as an avid runner, moments of joy would fade quickly as moments of sadness and despair took over. As had been a common theme the last decade, my running had been stuck on a roller coaster filled with highs and lows. There had been periods of times of five months, six months and even longer when I had found myself in an upward trending groove while running relatively pain free. Just as things seemed to be on a trajectory in a desired direction, one or both hips would push me back into a cave of frustration.  Pain would exist with every stride but it was something I could still run through and manage. This storyline would continue for a few months and then eventually the pain would become something that I was unable to tolerate while running. I would have to slam on the brakes and give up running for a month or two before resuming. The pattern of running with minimal discomfort, followed by running with pain and continuing with not being able to run because of the physical misery would continue. It felt like a broken record with moments of a sweet melody playing in my head followed by the sound of fingernails scratching a classroom chalkboard. The workout that I had just finished at the YMCA  on the bike was much appreciated but there were still feelings of despair in not being able to run. I suppose the winter conditions outside in recent days, with temperatures at zero and below helped to dull the ache of not being able to partake in my activity of choice. While I was wiping down the bike a young man in his twenties walked my way, offered a fist bump and said to me, “You killed that workout!”

As a fifty-five year old my days of glory as a runner are well behind me. Some days it is difficult to accept that my prime has passed but in reality just being able to run on a consistent basis without hurting brings the same joy as a sub eighteen minute 5K gave to me more than a decade ago. I realize that there are men and women my age who are faster and more fit than I am. I know that there are those a decade or more older than me who are in much better shape than I am. Plenty of runners younger than me are much more physically fit than me. I must admit that even with the sea of runners lapping me, I am grateful for what I am able to do at my age. Sometimes this line of thought gets lost in the outside noises causing distractions, leaving me unappreciative of my many blessings. With the blues that I had been experiencing the last six weeks, the words of encouragement offered by a young man half my age as my body recovered from my bike workout at the gym today were just what I needed. 

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when I reunited with a former student who as a child attended Wattles Park Elementary, the elementary school where I teach. Many of the students who have walked the halls of Wattles Park are well aware that I am an avid runner. I have run thousands of miles after the end of many school days in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. I have always enjoyed seeing the kids playing outside, waving at me and calling my name as I run by. My hope has always been to be a role model for them in living a healthy lifestyle. One of these former students approached me a few weeks ago at a local gas station. In the midst of our conversation he asked me if I had run that day. I explained to him my current dilemma in not being able to run due to an injury. He wished me well with my recovery and thanked me for always being an inspiration for him. Just as with the acknowledgement from the young man at the gym, these words from the former student uplifted me. The dialogue with both individuals didn’t swing my emotional state permanently but the short change in mood that it provided was much appreciated.

I have always felt that on some level I have provided inspiration for both runners and non-runners. My intention with this statement is not to sound arrogant but to illustrate how everyone has the potential to influence others in a positive fashion. On a personal level I am inspired by all runners. Although there remains an awareness that as a runner I have the potential to motivate others, hearing those words from others is always a gift, especially at a time of frustration and sadness. 

There are those individuals who do things that inspire the masses. Professional athletes, movie stars, soldiers returning home from serving our country and firefighters are examples of this. With that being said, I firmly believe that all of us inspire others without even being aware of it. We may not inspire hundreds or thousands of people but there are those whom we do inspire. The running world is filled with those who do this without even intending to do so. Runners inspire other runners and non runners alike. What we do and what we say can influence others in ways we might never know. 

Moving forward, I encourage everyone to be attentive to what others do to provide a positive influence for you personally. There might be those who have impacted your life over a long period of time with other examples of complete strangers doing the same in a snippet of time. If someone has inspired you and you have not thanked them, don't wait any longer to let them know that you have been inspired by their words or actions. Your words to them will likely affect them the same way in which their words and actions have affected you.

Until next time, this has been just another runner’s perspective.