I ran on the roads the other day and was disgusted by the
amount of ”athletic trash” I saw on the
roadsides. Now with about 13 miles to go it gave me time to think and ponder my
next blog, hence…
Let’s face it we all train hard, push our limits and are
extremely competitive come race day. It’s who we are! But we are a tad of smug at
times. It isn’t there everyday but it does show up now and again, we are triathletes,
marathoners, ironmen! We sometimes look at those who aren’t with a slight (and
sometimes NOT so slight) air of superiority. No couch potatoeing, nascar
watching person here. But we must realize we are part of a bigger society and
we must do better to act in a manner for the betterment of all. Those same
abilities that help us succeed in athletic theater; drive, tenacity and
fearlessness, should be brought to the table when it comes to the greater good.
Let me throw some ideas out at you.
First, and this is the easiest one, is caring for the
environment. When I first started riding, running, etc. I used to have a saying
“the litter on the side of the road is mostly fast food wrappers and beer cans,
us athletes treat the environment like we treat our bodies by not putting junk
in it.” What happened!! Good golly I can’t doing anything anymore without
seeing a gu packet, or a power bard wrapper laying a the side of the ride! you
can’t tell me that non-athletes are using the stuff and throwing out there car
windows, it doesn’t taste that good. Dang people step up! You are not racing every
day, if you accidentally drop something, go back and get it. Be more thoughtful
on race day as well, do you ever see the course after a tri? It looks like a
windstorm hit the area and blew everything into the streets. You wouldn’t
tolerate such sloppiness when it comes to your training, be better. You are already Misses neat freak? Well start demanding
those with you are better, write blogs about it even. This isn’t hard to do.
Second idea takes a little more initiative but really isn’t
that much harder. I started as a roadie but the long hours needed to become
proficient as well as the attitude other
roadies had to the neewbies, non-teamates and other riders in general (you can
always tell a roadie he’s the one riding the opposite way who doesn’t wave back
at you!) quickly moved me to tri’s. The
commradorie was noticeably different. But we have seen to lost some of that
welcoming spirit. Certainly it can be found in some local tri clubs, like mine
the Triathlon Connection, but it seems to be missing within our group in
general. We are less helpful, not so willing to offer advice out give a tip,
lest we loose precious seconds to a fellow athlete. You can doubt me if you will
be go do an xterra or and trail ultramarathon and you will see and feel a
palpable difference. You can notice that ‘one for all and all for one” attitude.
The “great if I do well and even better
if we all do well” vibe is a pleasant difference from the A-1 feeling commonly
found at you road tri. Lend a good word,
give a tip, and point out something that could help out. Be there at the finish
line after you finished, cheering and helping. You will get more than you will
ever give.
Lastly, and an area I particularly need to work on, using
our drive to race for the betterment of those outside our athletic circle.
Fundraise for your next race using the money for a local charity. Involve
younger athletes in your training and bring them with you to the race. Almost
every race has a charity they donate some of the proceeds to, find out what is
and work towards getting them some funds or bring attention to them in your
blogs or discussion on line. Facebook or Twitter about them.
I am sure many of us have ideas on ways we can couple our
great lifestyles with a greater purpose and make someone’s day a little
brighter. What have you done that we can emulate? Can we start some kind of
movement and keep it in the spotlight for the rest of our season. Help me out
and put send in some ideas and let’s get people involved!
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