It’s great how things can change, how new perspectives can totally alter your experience and make possible things once thought to be the opposite. This simple and obvious truth can be seen both in individuals (what people believe to be possible in their own lives) and in history on a much larger, societal scale (what society as a whole and the masses believe to be possible/acceptable.) When we want and accept change it can be a most thrilling metamorphosis and so it is important to push ourselves to keep an open and evolving mind. Here are a few examples:
-In 1967 Katherine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon at a time when women were not allowed to run (she registered under “K. V. Switzer”) The race official Jock Semple infamously attempted to forcibly remove Switzer from the track mid race but Switzer’s boyfriend deflected the attack. She finished the marathon and went on to fight for the right of women to run the Boston Marathon. By 1972, she and others had helped make that possible. On an individual level Switzer believed in herself and her potential to run that distance; on a societal scale she paved the way for people to embrace women’s athletic potential and their equality overall.
Think about it now. How insane does it seem to argue to women couldn’t run marathons or compete alongside men? Pretty crazy. All it took was a mental shift (albeit slow), a simple change in perspective.
-I remember when I didn’t know what a marathon was and how shocked I was when I heard that it entailed 26.2 miles … of running. There couldn’t possibly be anything more harrowing than that on the earth, I thought at the time. Many years later, after college, I really started running, I recall running the longest run of my life: 3 miles. It was daunting … just barely doable. Then, in California, I did my first real 5 mile trail run. I was astounded. Amazing! Then it was 7 miles, then 8, and so on. Eventually I ran a marathon. I was proud to have finished and quickly realized that 26.2 miles wasn’t so crazy after all, that lots of people of all ages run that far all the time (and I hadn’t even heard of ultra marathons yet.)
In my marathon training I did numerous long runs of 18-20+ miles. A few years before I didn’t know (or hadn’t consciously acknowledged the fact) that anyone even did that sort of thing…ever. I soon became interested in the mental aspects of long distance running. How could someone (who looks like an average, fit person) run 20 or 30 or more miles when the next person (who appears of equal fitness) can’t do 2 or 3. I went into the mountains and experimented and pushed myself and went through the nights and had great adventures; I realized (very quickly) that it’s all about you tell yourself is possible, what you allow your brain to believe in (just like in the movie the Matrix.)
Now I do ultramarathons and have run 100 mile races. In training for that distance I will do multiple 40-60 mile run in the mountains. 10 years ago I didn’t know people even ran 26.2 miles, let alone 30 miles, or 40, or 50, or 60, or…100! What a drastic alteration of perceived limits, what a huge mental shift! (And I’m just an average person like anyone else.) All it takes is truly wanting the mental shift and surrendering to it. (It should be noted that there are many events far longer than 100 miles and there are triathlon events 3 times (or more) longer than an Ironman. One example is the human-powered Iditorod Race in Alaska where some people travel 350 miles on foot, in the snow, in sub zero temperatures. The folks doing it are just people like you and me…the only difference is that they told themselves they could do such a thing, they fought to dismantle the mental boundaries between them and their goal.)
The most beautiful part of endurance races is all the people you see: men and women, different ages, different body types, all shapes and sizes. How do they do it? How on earth does a woman who looks like she could be my grandma–or anyone else for that matter–run 50 or 100 miles or more through the mountains? Because they believe it’s possible, because they allow themselves to eliminate perceived limits. If we are successful at breaking down our own mental walls–the hurdles in our minds–then there’s no telling what we can achieve.
-Take a second to think about the Civil Rights Era and some civil issues going on today. Remember there was time not so long ago when black folks had to use different drinking fountains than white folks and had to sit in different parts of buses, couldn’t go to the same schools, and so on? Doesn’t that seem so incredibly wrong and horrible, so beyond stupid? How could people have ever been so ignorant? Yeah, I know…hard to believe, right?
It’s the same with current events too. Gay marriage is a good example. In a few more years, as more and more people finally let go and surrender to the mental shift toward acceptance and compassion, we will look back and laugh at how silly anyone ever was to be against something as utterly harmless as full marriage equality. It will be the same as a ultra marathon runner recalling the intense fear of their first 5 mile run, amazed they ever could have felt that way. Or someone gobbling down a bowl of brussel sprouts and remembering the time when they would have rather died than even taste a single one. Things change and we are marvelous at adapting and evolving, if we can just let ourselves.
The bottom line is that change, overcoming fear, and shifting our mental perceptions allow for a thrilling, often life-changing ride. As I said, it’s just like in the Matrix…If we are successful at dismantling the mental walls that have been built up over time–if we can take down the hurdles in our minds–then there’s no telling what we can achieve.
In 2013 do something you never thought possible. Test the theory, see what you can do (safely and with proper training of course.) Challenge yourself to overcome fears and reconsider old perceptions, allow yourself that mental shift–an opening and evolving of the mind–and witness the good that comes. Dig deep and push yourself physically and mentally and we’ll all be better off for it.
Willie McBride is a native of Chicago, IL but has been living in and exploring the American West since 2000. He attended the Colorado College, majoring in English with a focus on Creative Writing, solidifying his love of writing and his need for mountains. An avid hiker, climber, and trail/ultramarathon runner he now resides in NW Portland, close by the trails of Forest Park. He started a personal/group training and coaching business called Animal Athletics (AnimalAthleticsPDX.com) with fellow ultra runner Yassine Diboun in spring of 2012 and the two provide top-notch services to aspiring outdoor athletes of all abilities.
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