Global Running Day happens on the first Wednesday in June to encourage people around the world to go run. That’s it. There’s no length or time requirement. There’s no particular reason. Just run.
Because we live in a time where social media “influencers” seem to dominate, you’re going to see a lot of them seizing the day to garner more attention. If you see that, look to see if they’re only talking about how they view running. As you know from reading this newsletter, I don’t put much stock in “influencers,” and I am not interested in gatekeeping.
I noted earlier this spring that there’s only one thing that allows a person to call themselves a runner: purpose.
You don’t have to run a certain speed, distance or race. You don’t have to finish on a podium, flash a medal, or hold a ribbon. You don’t have to wear certain clothing, shoes, accessories. You don’t have to drink certain drinks or consume specific foods. You don’t have to be on a particular track, trail or road. You don’t have to have a certain gait or form. Hell, you can even run backwards if you want.
The only thing you need to call yourself a runner is purpose. If you run with a purpose, you’re a runner.
I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose lately (quick diversion here). And I think I’ve only recently been able to articulate my purpose as far as the working world goes. I landed on: My purpose is to use storytelling to connect people to the meaning and impact of their work. I don’t necessarily insert that during job interviews, but it helps me frame my thinking for them. And that framework also helps me focus my job search a bit so that when I read descriptions I ask myself if I think I’ll be able to fulfill my purpose in that role. If not, I am far less likely to apply.
The point is, understanding the purpose is really helpful. And I don’t think gatekeeping is helpful. I never have. Which is why I think purpose is all you need to call yourself a runner.
A little example: Back when I did TV news, I almost always found a way to work in some mention of running when I was on the air. I did everything from reporting to weather forecasts to anchoring morning news. So the formats lent themselves to occasional moments of informal chat. I frequently took the opportunity to talk about running. I would often say, “Make time today to go out for a run or a walk. You’ll be glad you did.” And I know it encouraged at least one person.
Shortly before I left one station where I had worked for several years, I got a letter from a viewer. She lived in a small town in the viewing area and watched me regularly. She said she decided one day to take my advice. She wrote that she was morbidly obese and that her first walk was barely to the end of her block. But she’d been at it for a couple of years by this time and had worked her way up to running. She had lost around 80 pounds. Beyond the dramatic weight loss, it was obvious she defined herself differently. She was a runner.
She had a sense of purpose. It wasn’t me who did anything for her other than offer a sense of purpose. She’s the one with the achievements that changed her body and her sense of self. Purpose helps us stay motivated and focused. It helps with determination when things get hard. It helps us make better choices. It even helps us understand ourselves better.
And the beauty of purpose is that we get to define it for ourselves. That’s another whole topic, because arriving at purpose is often difficult for people. It was for me. But you do get that freedom. Just like you get the freedom to decide how to celebrate today.
So on this Global Running Day, I encourage you to go running. You don’t need any special reason other than your own purpose.
For fun, I’m sharing this heatmap image from my Garmin workout yesterday. I ran 10 X 200 meters with 200m recovey jog/walks. If you’re not familiar with track workouts this little image should be helpful. The red half of the track I ran pretty fast. The blue half, I was running easy to recover. I did that 10 times. Something about seeing it on a heatmap made me chuckle.
Happy Global Running Day to you!