We’re Runners: Get Over It
“Get off my lawn”-style tirade had no place in the Wall Street Journal
We get it. Chad Stafko doesn’t get running, a pastime as baffling to him as Duck Dynasty—about which Stafko penned an op-ed in The American Thinker—is to me.
The ire towards exercise is perplexing, considering that the Center for Disease Control considers over a third of American adults obese. Obesity among America’s youth has become so rampant that it disqualifies nearly 15% of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 from enlisting in the US Army—even after taking into account the weight most recruits will shed during Basic Training.
But though running’s physical benefits are self-evident, its psychological effects are even greater. Foregoing warm beds and lacing up their shoes in the pre-dawn chill, runners develop perseverance and discipline. Moreover, researchers have found that strenuous exercise, including running, is therapeutic for those who suffer from afflictions such as depression and anxiety, and even Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS). Many of our wounded veterans, some of whom may have lost portions of their legs in combat, take great pride in trying to run once again, in an effort to regain a sense of normalcy lost on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
For some, running is a solitary endeavor, offering a moment to relax, reflect, and prepare for the day’s challenges unperturbed. But for many more, running is an incredibly social experience. Every weekend, runners gather by the thousands for runs ranging from five kilometers to fifty miles. Some will wear costumes, while others will wear t-shirts promoting their favorite charities. Smartphone-equipped runners may be scrambling about cities in urban scavenger hunts or trotting from one watering hole to the next in the nation’s many “pub runs”. In the military, we often commemorated special occasions with large formation runs, such as the 82nd Airborne Division’s annual All-American Week run, a procession of over 15,000 paratroopers stretching for nearly two miles. And as I think back to my youth, I recall learning to ride my bicycle by riding alongside my father on his Saturday morning runs.
For many marathoners, running provides the gratification inherent in training for and achieving a goal which most adults simply could not attain. (Recall that even the first marathon runner, Pheidippides, didn’t survive the ordeal!)
Can marathon runners be obnoxious about their accomplishments? Perhaps, but no more so than the legions of insufferable sports fans who live vicariously through the exploits of their favorite sports teams.
Above all, nearly every runner runs for the scenery. During my years of running, I’ve gained the confidence that comes with battling the elements—sucking down the thin air of the Rocky Mountains, trudging through a blizzard along Lake Ontario, or sweating through a scorching 10k on a forward operating base in Iraq (with a reflector belt, for safety).
Not to mention, there’s also the smug satisfaction of knowing that, as the old Army cliché goes, I’ve accomplished more before 9 A.M. than most people do all day.
Crispin Burke is a serving US Army officer, and a supporter of Team RWB, a non-profit organization which connects military veterans and service members with civilians through athletic events. His views are his own and not that of the Department of Defense.
