“Shoes block pain, not impact! Pain teaches us to run comfortably! From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run.”

― Barefoot Ted

Christopher McDougall

Christopher McDougall explores the mysteries of the human desire to run. How did running help early humans survive — and what urges from our ancient ancestors spur us on today? McDougall tells the story of the marathoner with a heart of gold, the unlikely ultra-runner, and the hidden tribe in Mexico that runs to live.

Once

As a kid, I ran down a hill so fast I couldn't stop myself.
Momentum took over and I lost all ability to command my legs.
My body just kept propelling itself forward.
I still vividly remember the feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach as I lost control.
I tumbled straight into a bush and a pile of rocks broke my fall leaving a permanent scar on my right knee.
I remember not wanting to leave the shelter of the bush, I was boiling with embarrassment.
It was some time before I let myself loose control like that again.
And it took an even longer time to learn that mistakes aren't good or bad, they're just mistakes.
And you clean them up.
And you go on.

slow motion

Cheetahs on the Edge--Director's Cut from Gregory Wilson on Vimeo. The spinal motions! Can you see the similarities in the suppleness of the spine?

Fell Runner

Women's Jam

Strong, beautiful women moving through, over, around and under straight lines and curved spaces.
From Brandee of monkeemoves.

Bruce Lee had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.” I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” –and we’re still running-”if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

The man.

(Found here)

If exercise was good for Charles Darwin, it's good for all of us.

"...exercise is not purely physical, as if we might carve off the flesh, leaving the spirit behind. And this is a crucial philosophical message: of wholeness. The human condition involves a continual to-and-fro between the body and the mind. In fact, the nouns make these aspects of self seem more divided than they are. Thinking is embodied, and acting is mindful. We are not a ghost in a machine, to use philosopher Gilbert Ryle's phrase: we are bodies, and these bodies are conscious...

...For example, swimming can evoke the sublime, and gesture at the precariousness of human life. As the ancient Greek poets remind us, sprinting can prompt pride: not simply in fast legs or fit lungs, but in the commitment to striving before mortality claims us. Regular jogging can promote consistency of character, and keep us from losing the plot. Rock climbing can encourage humility and caution: attention to our flaws, and to the subtle details of rock or wall. This state-of-mind then allows "flow" to arise: we feel free, timeless, as we skilfully negotiate a challenging task. Ballet and karate can turn pain into a curious pleasure – we choose bruised ribs and aching toes over a life of anaesthetised comfort.

The point is not that we have to be Olympians, tracking personal bests with tailored dawn training schedules. We need not be the fastest, strongest or most agile. The point is that exercise can be a commitment to wholeness; to a life enriched and enhanced by physical and mental striving. Darwin was no professional athlete: but he knew about fitness and flourishing."

LOVE this article from Damon Young at The Guardian.
Click HERE to read it in full.

Bobbi Gib

Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run and complete the Boston Marathon in 1966. She ran without a number because women were not allowed in the race! Gibb’s run challenged prevalent prejudices and misconceptions about women's athletic capabilities at the time.