This quote sums it up perfectly!!!!
At the 26.2 with Donna Marathon, I had the privilege to interview a racing legend. Joan Benoit Samuelson is an amazing inspiration to women's athletics and a role model to many runners all over the world. Do not let her small frame or quiet demeanor fool you. She is fierce, determined, and full of drive.
Joan Benoit Samuelson won Gold at the first Women's Marathon at the 1984 Olympics. She has won the Boston Marathon several times, and has a personal record that matches mine (at the halfway point of a marathon- just kidding I can get halfway a little faster than her 2:21 PR but its close).
She is fast yes indeed, but when I sat down to chat about the greatness of her accomplishments I was surprised at the humble laid back tone she had. I asked the typical questions of how do you train on your runs, what do you eat during your run, and how many miles a week do you run? There was a calm sense about her that comes from many many miles of thinking I believe. She is so intuned to her body and her soul that most of the answers to my 'running' questions were, "I run how I feel that day". It was remarkable to look at the greatest female runner of all time and just see such intuitiveness to her self. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it was wonderful to not hear a magic formula for being faster. She is from Maine and my fellow ambassador friend, Elisabeth, was from the next town over from Joan's hometown in Maine. She remembers as a kid seeing Joan run through town.
One thing I learned about Joan, that we have in common, was she LOVES a story! She and I both agree that storytelling is a lost art. She has many of them from running with her brothers in her childhood to a broken bone that ended her downhill ski racing dreams. The story does not end there though, the ski racing may have ended but the door then opened for her running adventure. I love the way that each door that may close in a persons life can open another that leads us to something even better than we could have dreamed possible.
Joan has run all over the world decked out in Nike gear. She runs in Pegs my second favorite Nike shoe! (I love my Structures). Some of her proudest moments were when she was in Tacoma, WA, near where I live for the Olympic time trials. She was also able to run the Boston Marathon with her daughter 30 years after winning it. She also voiced her desire to tell the "story" of the 50 year old that ran a sub-2:50 marathon and DID! Then, there was running the NYC marathon that came 25 years after her Olympic win so that story needed to be told too. I believe it is how she stays so inspired to run all these years. When it is attached to an emotion, a memory, or it is given some extra significance it make the experience and passion that much greater. I think this is my favorite quality that Joan possesses. Sure, I love any runner with the mental and physical strength to do what she has done in life, but I think at the end of the day she will have a collection of meaningful memories and experiences to go along with some beautiful shiny medals.
My lessons learned from Joan
1. LISTEN to your body!
It is the only one you get so be in-tune with it. Know when you can push and when you need to rest. Your body knows what to do so take care of it.
2. Be HUMBLE! You don't have to be fast to be amazing. Runners are all the same at heart. Some are just blessed with quicker feet than others, but the reality is we all KNOW something in our souls that others who do not run may not know. We know how to motivate ourselves in a way that many can't understand. We go out in rain, snow, hot, and cold to hit the streets mentally solving all of the worlds problems. I believe what that does is then creates this internal confidence and drive that people then translate to everyday life. Crazy...no way just amazing!
3. NIKE really is the best brand on the planet. :) Seriously, I love them and so does Joan so that must mean something!!
4. OBSTACLES make us that much stronger. No matter what door closes in front of you there will always be another one that will lead to something amazing!! I look at all the "greats" in life. They have all overcome some struggle. If you have not overcome something then you can't learn from it, pick yourself up, and go back and try again. The more of these amazing greats that I meet, the more I find they all have this quality in common.
3. Life is a collection of STORIES! Tell them! Don't let the stories from your past get stuck there. We are such a tech based world these days and this art of telling that story is becoming a lost art. Talk, write, and share the great adventures of your life.
Here is another one of my favorite quotes I found from Joan:
"Years ago, women sat in kitchens drinking coffee and discussing life. Today, they cover the same topics while they run." -Joan Benoit Samuelson
***Joan has no idea, but I feel meeting her is one of the reasons I went to Florida. Before I left for the race I was unsure as to why I felt such a strong desire to go on this trip. I really didn't have the extra income to trek across the country at the time, but I felt pulled to go. It was the same way I felt pulled to go to the race in Athens, Greece. At the time I had no idea why, but now I see exactly how the trip fit in perfectly to the little plan and path ahead of me. This trip will be one of those moments in my mind that a year from now I will say, "none of this would have happened if I had not went to 26.2 with Donna weekend"! I can't tell you much more yet because these ideas are still rolling around, but I promise it is BIG and having this conversation with Joan sparked the new adventure. For that I am grateful to her and her amazingly fast legs!
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