I run for what I was. And what I am.
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Athletically this was and continues to be my crowning achievement.
Today I am approaching 48 and attempting to break the 5 minute barrier this spring. I run for what was but I’ve also discovered that I now have turned my running into what is.
My running career ended in 1991 with frustration from years of injuries. Over the decades I continued to try and revive my running, but I met the same old injuries down the road. Finally in 2012 I decided to give it one last shot.
I was living in Ireland and working on a farm when the need to give this rewarding yet painful addiction came calling one more time. I had a pair of homemade sandals (leather huaraches) and ran twenty minutes. I continued to run in mostly sandals for the next year.
When you run in thin huaraches you must be ever present. Wearing headphones or even simply daydreaming can be a big mistake. Every step matters and every step counts. It allowed me to become conscious of my every movement. It changed my running and gave me a new lease on the sport I love and missed dearly.
Today I run in shoes. The sandals changed my running style and brought me into the moment. I am now disciplined enough to maintain my awareness without the use of my homemade huaraches.
Today my goals are pursued in the present and my life has followed. I live simply and what many would consider a lonely or boring existence. I wake up in my small dwelling and run in the high desert of SW New Mexico. I still chase my times from the past but I keep the power of now in my feet as I glide along this journey called life.
After all there’s no time like the present so why not run while I still can.
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For The Good Men Project Sports’ Why We Run feature, we are looking to collect YOUR comments, posts, Tweets, and emails that answer the questions: Why do you run? What are you running from? What are you running towards, if anything?”
Please send us your submission via email to myself at mkasdan@gmail.com or via Twitter @michaelkasdan #WhyWeRunGMP and #GMPSports. Submissions can also be made through the below comments section or on our Facebook page.
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