As I’ve mentioned before, the tepid Oregon summer marks dry season for sports across our lush Northwestern state. These last few months, I’ve been in the same boat. As a student at the University of Oregon and a campus sports reporter, it’s a difficult three month countdown to football season. But with the time off, I’ve branched out into the scary internship world and while sports haven’t been my focus, they’ve still found a way to save me.
I’ve spent the last seven weeks trekking through the Washington wilderness, following ROTC Cadets through the last stage of their leadership training. The reporting has been exciting and new but the distance from home, the newness of my surroundings, and the adjustments of new management have taken their toll. There have been many homesick nights, frustrated days, and moments that have left me discouraged. Unfortunately at times, the goal turned into a simple countdown of days.
Somewhere along the way of being lonely, upset, and beaten down, I realized my goal needed to be externalized into something more physical. The internship was becoming an unhealthy cycle. My self-esteem and confidence was being lowered. And one day in frustration and in anger, I finally laced up running shoes.
Running saved my sanity. In a place where I was struggling to get a handle on the simple things – feeding myself in a motel, early wake ups, writing style changes – I still knew how to do one thing. I knew how to run. In a period of transition, it seems crucial to grasp onto something you’re comfortable with. For me it has been running. It’s not only a constant stress reliever but it’s also a reminder of home.
Perhaps it’s a secret all runners and athletes know. After all, the professionals live on the road and are forced to perform in foreign places and under stressful circumstances. They’re booed and jet lagged and tired but their skills and performance must serve as an anchor. Even here, the Cadets on base who are miles from home and worn and tired must revert to muscle memory and push through mental blockades to succeed. And while my own road is not near as intense, the same physical goals and drive have helped me to prosper.
It has been a summer without sports. But even as I venture away from what has been comfortable as both an athlete and a journalist, the same methods, skills, and mentality have served me like the safety net of muscle memory. This summer one of the many things I’ve learned is to not run from your problems but to run through them. To end, a quote by Primo Levi says that in life it’s not important to be strong, but to feel strong. For me, and for many, sports and running provided an opportunity to feel strong when I was at my weakest. I know that wherever I go, whatever I face, the run and the chance to regain at least a part of my confidence, is always there.
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