The Truth, by George

I didn’t know much about Eddie George before I met him at the Country Music Marathon expo. I knew what most people know, I guess. He was a star in the NFL, playing mostly for the Tennessee Titans and that he won the Heisman Trophy while at Ohio State. What I didn’t know was how thoughtful and thought-provoking he is. There’s no question in my mind how he came to be great. Greatness is a part of who he is. And he’s comfortable with it.

The conversation revolved around the differences – and similarities – between playing football and running long distance races. On the surface it would seem like the sports would share very little. One is a bunch of VERY large men in protective gear beating and banging on each other in a nearly war-like game of possession and dominance. The other, at the elite level, is a bunch of wispy men and women running in as little as possible all trying to be the first to finish.

But, when it came to game day strategy, Eddie George gave an answer that transended the sport of football, had application for running and – by extension – for life itself. The coaches and players spend the week coming up with an elaborate game plan. They practice plays and situations in anticipation of the game going a certain way. But, what he said, was that no game plan survives the opening kick-off. Once the game is being played it is about reacting to the rhythm of the game.

Runners, especially long-distance runners, and MORE especially inexperienced long-distance runners seem to spend hours and hours coming up with a race strategy. They devise a plan for the early miles, then calculate what they’ll need in the middle miles, and then how they will approach the final miles. They talk about splits – negative splits – mile splits – hydration – refueling – and on it goes. They visualize how the race is going to go. They imagine themselves out on the course.

But, I think what Eddie George is saying, is that no race strategy survives the firing of the start gun. Once you’ve crossed the start line the race becomes what it is, not what you want it to be. You are an observer of yourself running the race, not the master of your running domain. You are a servant to the vagaries of the day. You cannot, it seems to me and Eddie George, plan for every contigency. Once the race starts you have to be ready for whatever the day gives you. Period.

It’s important to be well trained. It’s more important to be well prepared. Prepared for the mystery of long-distance running.

And that’s the truth, by George.

Waddle on, friends.

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

Have a question for John? E-mail it to thepenguin@johnbingham.com.