others certainly may have said this before, but i first heard about this quote from a crazy dude by the name of dean karnazes.
it's something to think about in these difficult times - we may have been a bit more comfortable before the economy took a gigantic fall, but it doesn't mean we were happier. we probably have all lost one way or another, but if you think hard, it might lead you to cherish what you have, and help you find happiness.
***
As some of you know, I recently ran my 2nd marathon back in Feb. Honestly, if you had asked me 2 years ago if I could run a marathon, I would have thought you were crazy to ask. I'd
just say that it's not physically possible for me - I have old knee
injuries and my body just can't take that kind of pounding.
Back
in 2007, I came across a magazine article in Wired.com, about this man
Dean Karnazes, who ran "ultra-marathons" - not distances of the
standard 42km, or even 100km like trailwalker, but on the order of 200
miles (320km). The article had a quote: "The
human body has limitations," Karnazes says. "The human spirit is
boundless." Your mind, in other words, is your most important muscle.
As a running buddy told him: "Life is not a journey to the grave with
the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but
rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and
loudly proclaiming: Wow!! What a ride!"
Now,
while running long distances is not everyone's idea of excitement - but
this intrigued me greatly - there's a human body out there that can run
8 marathons back-to-back? Now how is that possible? What does he think
about? I immediately ordered Dean's book, and I was hooked. Here
was this apparently normal person, who really just went out to do
something the best that he can, showing us what human endurance is
truly capable of.
We all have troubles balancing "real life" and our innate sense of adventure/edge-pushing. I
was so impressed by his adventures I dropped him a note on his website,
not really expecting an answer, and he wrote back with very encouraging
words! There and then, I decided I just had to do at least an eighth of
this 200-mile race he completed - to run one full marathon. And now, I can tell you, it really is just all in the mind.
So this brings us to Dean's documentary film, "Ultramarathon Man, 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 days". A marathon a day, for fifty days, in the fifty states in USA. As you can probably tell I'm incredibly excited that it will be shown at the upcoming HK Film Festival. The link is here: http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/film/detail/22/1222.html .
Inspiring is sometimes an overused word, but I am absolutely certain this journey of 2,100km will be worth watching.
If you are in Hong Kong and here on April 12 or 13, please come see this film! Book your tickets online now before they're sold out!
