With this weekend’s Chicago marathon and Kona Ironman upon us, we were inspired to post this legendary Nike commercial. In this short film, Nike is, as always, brilliant and The Killers are, well, just that.
The video, entitled “Courage”, powerfully depicts the strength and determination required for great athletic achievement. It also shows that this achievement comes at a price – hard work, sweat, and sometimes failure. Great athletes must have the willingness to push beyond physical limitations and the mental fortitude to truly believe in the impossible.
Whether this marathon/triathlon is your first or your fiftieth, whether you are looking to finish, qualify, or PR, there is an achievement to be had and you too must be willing and strong. As the video states, you have what you need to get there inside. The question is:
Do you have the courage to dig deep and set it free?
With the Chicago, Marine Corps, and NYC marathons upon us, thousands of runners are maxing out mileage in the hopes of a successful 26.2 miler this fall.
At Moji, we have the honor of attending dozens of marathon training events including weekday running clubs, Saturday morning training programs, and every type of prep race from 5K fun runs to half marathons. The emotions revealed through these hopeful marathoners’ expressions run the gamut – nervousness, pride, exuberance, confidence, sometimes even surprise. However, the one emotion they all share in common is hope.
The healthy runners hope for a great Marathon Sunday. The injured runners simply hope to have any Marathon Sunday at all.
Most of us know that all running shoes eventually lose their spunk and have to be put out to pasture. Somewhere beyond the 300-mile mark, our shoes no longer provide proper support and make even the youngest and most resilient of us prone to the aches and pains of overuse injuries.
So, we trek to our favorite specialty running store/big box retailer/discount website/5,000 sq. ft. personal running shoe cellar and replace our loyal friends, happily looking forward to the extra bounce that will make our next long run take on an unimaginable ease. (See Unimaginable Ease)
However, figuring out when it’s replacement time for said running shoes can be an art form.
