Inspirational

Yesterday at the gym I wore the tye-dye shirt from the Beach Bum this past weekend.  An older guy came up to me and asked me how I liked the race, obviously he was there as well.  When I took a closer look at the man I recognized him.  He ran with a woman that participates in Special Olympics.

He was a very talkative gentlemen.  In the span of roughly 10 minutes I learned quite a bit.  He is a retired Navy commander that snowbirds down in Naples.  He went to Notre Dame and used to play football there.  A shoulder injury ended his football career.  He is 69 years old, he only started running at 63.  He is real big into running marathons in other countries.  He has run marathons in Greece, Lebanon and even Antartica.  He said he was leaving to run the London Marathon in a couple weeks.

He was telling me just how enjoyable he finds travelling to these countries, seeing the sights, meeting the people, hearing the stories and taking in the experiences.  The guy lit up as he talked about it, you could tell just how deeply he believed what he was saying.

He told me a story about the marathon he ran in Greece.  He finished the marathon and of course was very sore and achy afterward.  However the following day there was some area they were going to that had a beautiful view.  The only problem was he had to climb 900+ steps to get there.  He climbed the steps and got to see the view even though it was very painful to do so.  The next day there was another landmark to see that once again required extensive climbing.  Again he trudged upwards until he made it to the top.

By the time the third day came around Charlie was very sore, his feet were covered in blood blisters from the running and climbing and he felt just beat up. Well on the third day they went to the site where the original Olympics were held.  The guide spoke about how the big event in the original Olympics was the run for Zeus.  The Zeus run was approximately a 200 yard dash.  The guide pointed to a line of marble in the ground that was the start line for the race.  In the distance you could see another line of marble which was the finish.

Well Charlie said he HAD to run the Zeus run, he’ll never get the chance again.  So even though he hardly felt like running he lined up at the start line and took off.  He said after three strides all of the aches and pains he was feeling evaporated.  He ran the 200 yards hard and finished strong.  After the run he was amazed how all of a sudden he felt great after starting to run.  He examined his feet and said that all of the blood blisters that covered his feet had dried up.  He had no explanation but swore it was true. 

Charlie figured I was an accomplished runner based on my build.  He encouraged me to try some of the overseas marathons.  I told him that he definitely sparked my interest in doing so.  I figured it was pointless to tell him I never have run farther than 6 miles and that his knees were probably in better shape than mine.  It did however really make me think about trying.  Try training consistently and see just how far my knees will carry me. 

I wished Charlie good luck in London as I left.  I didn’t even care he cut into my ab routine time.