SOLE Blog

August 13th, 2009

It's about running

This post is the first in an occasional series from members of the team at SOLE, covering different aspects of their work and lives. We have a growing cadre of athletes like Christian among the staff at SOLE, and our hope is that you will find something you can take from their experiences as you run, cycle, hike, climb, etc. through your lives.

It's been nearly 30 years since I started running. Yet I remember clearly the moment I became a runner.

It was during the early stages of what had become a regular four mile route along a road not far from my home in Maryland. Not long after that run I recorded the moment in a newspaper column, "I used to think the two most important things in life were laughter and sex. Now I have to add a third: running."

I've gone on to a myriad of careers but I've always run and have always thought of myself as a runner. Now, as a member of the team at SOLE, I get to live and breathe running and talk about running and how our products enhance runners' experiences.

This Fall I'll run my first 50k trail race. I've been training since February, and though I've run 14 marathons, I know the 50k will present unique challenges. Today I ran 22 miles in pouring rain and thought about my race just seven weeks from now. Through the years I've developed the notion that it's all the miles one puts in before the race that matter. If they aren't there, no matter what you do on race day, it isn't likely to be pleasant. That's why I've run in all kinds of weather, from 30-below wind chill in Calgary in February to withering in Washington, D.C.'s scorching 100-degree July.

Running has been the constant, through many jobs and personal trials. And the miles have become for me a testimonial to life, the reward that is delayed and is savored all the more because of it.

It used to be that I couldn't consider running any longer than 26 miles, just as it's easy to think that the challenges life places in front of us are too great to overcome. Yet now I'm looking at 50 kilometers --31 miles-- and I'm cautiously optimistic about my ability to tackle that distance too.

I have lots more to say about running, about training, about equipment and about life. Stay tuned. See you on the roads and trails.

• Christian is the Manager for Business Development for Running for SOLE. He also covers the Great Lakes territory for SOLE.

Posted by: Matt Lambert at 1:22 p.m. in Running | Comments (0)