Dodging the Bullet

As they sing in Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start.” In this case, the start IS the start, of the RnR Virginia Beach Half Marathon. Little did I know that my life was going to change that weekend.

A little context: I am a car guy. I am a motor-head. I worked as a professional mechanic. I’ve owned over 60 cars and at least that many motorcycles. I love everything with a engine from mini-bikes to monster trucks. So, when Dodge turned up as the Title Sponsor of the Virginia Beach event I thought that is was very, VERY cool.

They chose the Rock ‘n’ Roll event to introduce the new, completely redesigned Dodge Durango. They didn’t chose an auto show, or a NASCAR race. They chose a half marathon. Better yet, a bunch of Dodge employees – including the new president of Dodge, Ralph Giles – participated in the event. Now THAT’S having skin in the game.

I’d been thinking about getting a new car. My Dodge mini-van had 180,000 miles on it when I gave it to a friend, so a new Dodge was on the list. I knew I wanted something fun, something functional, something that would haul Coach Jenny and my stuff, and something that could seat the whole family including the 3 grandkids. The new Durango seemed perfect. I’m sure that Ralph thought I was kidding when I shouted over the microphone to him that I was going to buy one.

Well I did. The car wasn’t released until November. I couldn’t order it until December. But, it’s sitting in the garage right now.

What’s this got to do with running? Everything. Sometimes we define ourselves as runners by the distances we run or our finish times. That’s fine but the running industry – and THE industry beyond running – defines us by who we are and what we do. We are active people. We like to travel. We understand that to have what we want, we have to work hard. We appreciate quality. We demand more from ourselves than non-runners.

It’s been a difficult time for the US auto industry, and Dodge has had it’s share of the trouble. But, the company has decided to get fit, just as many of us did. They are going to be better. They are going to work hard. They are going to demand more from themselves – as individuals and as a company.

And I, for one, salute them. More than that, I welcome them personally and corporately to the running community. Thanks for supporting our dreams.

Waddle on, friends.

John

John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist Author, The Courage to Start, No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.

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