Dane Rauschenberg on the beauty and importance of stilling the mind when you’re out on a run.
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“What do you think about when you are running?” is one of the top questions I get when people learn how far I run. I have come up with many answers, all true, but one day it hit me to turn it around onto them.
“What do you think about when you aren’t running?”
This often gives people a little bit of pause. I know they are trying to think that one’s mind must always be engaged or distracted in order to get through many miles of running. But there is also this air that comes with the question that unless I am thinking of something I am wasting valuable time.
The thing is, very few, if any, of our thoughts each day are groundbreaking. Most of them are rather subconscious reactions to the stimulus around us. By this I mean it is not as if those that aren’t running are finding the cure for cancer when they are watching Duck Dynasty or reading a book or fighting with the masses around the holiday season to get that perfect gift.
You see, when I am running, I am often thinking about many things. Sometimes I think about nothing. It doesn’t mean my mind is idle. It means I am concentrating on what I am doing. Listening to my body. Paying attention to its aches and pains. Learning more about my body moving through space and how unbelievably different one can feel from one day to the next on the exact same route.
I’m not saying I am some great thinker. But I do get many of my ideas for articles I want to write, things I want to do or just basic clarity when I am out on a run. I can catalog the day, put things into order and make decisions for later.
Sometimes I don’t think about a damn thing and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s a whole lot that’s good about it. And sometimes my only thought is:
“It feels so good to be able to be out here doing this.”
Dane’s newest adventure is the short film following him as he ran the 202-mile American Odyssey Relay – solo.
So agree with you Dane. Running is a respite from having to do anything and the sensations of “just being able to do this” is life affirming. I have come to see the miles I’ve run over more than 30 years among the most valuable uses of my time. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Christian. Was recently asked if I thought I was missing out on life by running so much. My stunned silence was my answer. (The question came to me while I was on a cruise ship to Easter Island where I was being paid to speak about my life adventures as a runner. The irony of asking me if I was missing out on life on a trip to one of the most remote places on Earth, paid for by the fact I run was lost on her.)