RUN
It's been exactly half a year since the last time blogged. Reasons being a total lack of inspiration, too much idling and lack of a life. And heck does time fly.
With reference to the title above (gosh I've been writing too many letters as a secretary), I was somewhat intrigued by this year's school Cross Country Run. Long distance running has never been my cup of tea, especially under the hot sun of Malaysia.
A special mention to our school running champion. Even though I do not know him personally, I salute this guy. Doing the feat twice in a row isn't an easy task. I noticed, when I began running down the slope of the school towards the car park adjacent to the school hall, I caught a glimpse of this fella sprinting down the 100m running course.
Our top two runners did two significant feats:
1 Break the school record of 35 minutes for 8km
2 Overtake the L2 boys' category champion even though starting 10 minutes after L2
Our champion runner reminded me of the African marathon runners I watched in the Olympics. Tall, slender, tanned, agile, fast and most of all; full of stamina. Olympics level marathon is indeed very far-fetched for us, with an average of 42km for men. I can only run for 3km, which is only 7% of the run. If I continue walking, I'd take half a day to complete the course.
Being realistic, running 8km is really difficult for an ordinary person. 42km? These African runners are well trained in their respective countries. Currently the records are dominated by only two nations: Ethiopia and Kenya, whereby the only Ethiopian record holder is by far the very best we, mankind, have.
To be entirely frank, I could've run for much more than I managed on Cross Country day. What's most important is mental endurance rather than physical abilities. My PE teacher constantly reminds us to push ourselves when running. Quote the PE teacher: Run at your own pace constantly. Never stop, slow down or speed up. Just run. I can only do that when pushed by him during PE lessons, and I am always in awe of what I am capable of. But I just can't conjure up that mentality when running during Cross Country. I needed someone to constantly push me, a motivational hydraulic to remind me of what I'm able to do. Special thanks to Mr Lim Chee Keong who made me a stronger person physically, mentally and psychologically.
So basically, the thing about these runners is their mental strength, it's what pushes them, powers their legs to go forward, and never give in. It is something not everyone has. I salute these people because I personally cannot do that. They are able to self-motivate, to constantly stretch their body (machine) to perform at its best, beyond what is expected. That, by itself, is a gift.
The African marathoners are symbols of mankind's willpower and mental capabilities. What they are achieving does mankind proud.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 10:49 pm and is filed under SportyLife. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
