Who Are Your Running Heroes?

by John Corbett

Did you have heroes when you were a kid? I did. When I was young my heroes came mostly from T.V. and the movies. Popeye, Mighty Mouse and Superman always seemed to come through and save the day, rescue the girl or scare the bad guys away just in the nick of time. They always had the knack of overcoming adversity to achieve their goal.

As I got a bit older and realized that the above-mentioned characters were more fantasy than reality, I found some new heroes. Usually they were sports figures like Dick Butkus or Gale Sayers from the Chicago Bears. Outstanding athletes on a very poor team, they both gave 100% every minute they were on the field, handled adversity like champions and earned the respect and admiration of their fans and opponents alike. Both earned their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After college and graduate school my heroes changed again. My parents made their way on to my list of heroes as I realized that I really wasn't smarter than they were, and that they very quietly and effectively had been a positive influence on my life and the lives of many others. I was starting to understand more about REAL heroes.

Then at the age of 43, I started running. I threw myself in to the sport and wanted to know as much as possible about every aspect of distance running. As I researched and read, I started a list of running heroes. Joe Henderson, Dr. George Sheehan, and Jeff Galloway had all written books that educated and inspired me. All three made my list of running heroes. In 1997 I read a column in the back of Runner's World Magazine written by John Bingham, who called himself "The Penguin". John's columns were full of wisdom, humor, enthusiasm and encouragement, written by a guy who described himself as a true back of the pack runner. Now here was a guy I could relate to, and another hero was added to the list.

Also on my running hero list is Billy Mills, the 1964 Olympic Gold Medal winner in the 10,000 meters, whose come from behind victory was one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history. I have had the privilege of meeting and spending some time with Billy Mills. If you don't know his story, do a bit of research to find out why Billy Mills deserves to be on everyone's list of heroes. Other running heroes of mine are Khalid Kannouchi and Paula Radcliffe, the current world record holders in the marathon. They are both amazing athletes and seemingly very nice people who continue to dazzle the running world.

But my biggest heroes are people that I have the privilege of seeing every Saturday morning. They are not running sub 5-minute miles or breaking records. Some of them are not running sub 12-minute miles. Some of them are not running at all; they are walking. So what qualifies these people to be at the top of my list of running heroes? Let me try to explain.

Forty-eight people from our marathon training group stepped to the starting line of the Rock N' Roll Marathon in San Diego earlier this summer. All forty-eight crossed the finish line 26.2 miles later. For one person, her effort resulted in a Boston Marathon qualifying time. For several others, their efforts resulted in a personal best marathon. For many, the effort given during 24 weeks of training and 26.2 miles on marathon day resulted in their first marathon finish and a lifetime of knowing that they accomplished something extraordinary.

Each person brought different skills to the starting line, and a different reason for being there. Some wanted to test themselves against the clock and the distance. Some wanted to prove (to themselves) that they really could do something that six months before seemed nearly impossible. And some wanted to silence the voices, either their own or the voices of others, that for years had said, "you can't". Each one of them stepped outside of their comfort zone, faced their fears and put one foot in front of the other until the finish line was reached. They overcame adversity and reached their goal…real life versions of my childhood heroes.

Being able to high five, hug and share tears of pride and happiness with these people as they crossed the finish line was the highlight of the 24 weeks that I spent with them. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things; my heroes, one and all!

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Aricles:

Who Are Your Running Heroes? - Are You A "Real" Runner? - Exercise Measured In Effort, Not Miles - Finding your relationship with exercise - Inspiration