Running

Marathon today. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Today is Marathon Monday in Boston. Thousands will run the twenty-six-mile race from suburb to city. The marathon itself is a phenomenon which evolved out of war culture in ancient Greece. The legendary run of Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to announce the defeat of the invading Persians in 490 BCE was resurrected for the Athens Olympics in 1896, basically a public relations myth. 

Running for some is meditative. For others, it is addictive. Brain physiology is changed by running. The release of endorphins during the stress of running produces a euphoric high. How many of us spend our lives running? Running from pain. Running from commitments. Running from facing our own mortality. Like the physical act of running, running in other ways can produce release, euphoria and the illusion of escape from the inevitable. 

I ran for years as a method of maintaining endurance and reducing anxiety. It was very effective as an antidote, a balance, to the stresses of my nursing career. I stopped running in my forties. Since both my parents had already encountered knee degradation or replacement, I decided to give my own knees a break at the suggestion of a physician. 

The loss of running as a coping mechanism was disruptive to my life's routines. I began substituting more walking and other forms of exercise to compensate. I realized how central running had been to my metabolism, my sleep patterns and my general sense of well being. The change was a milestone in my development of my personal practice. I embraced more fully the guiding concept that my body is a complex machine with a limited lifespan and requirements for intelligent maintenance. In other words, I could no longer run away from the fact that I am inevitably aging and changing physically.

A central element of my humanist practice is maintaining my health. Functionality depends on health, and continued health depends on functionality. Without nerve-muscle health, proper respiration and proper metabolism, the body becomes immobilized. Once immobilized, the body begins to deteriorate very quickly. Muscle wastes. Ligaments contract. Bones lose integrity. Running is a great form of conscious exercise to keep the body strong and functional. However, running from the core issue of responsibility for maintaining a healthy lifestyle to be a better human being is a no-win game. Life is one course which we do not wish to finish in record time.