Uncover your inner athlete!

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten.. Each morning in Africa a lion awakes - it knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve.


No matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up you had better be running!



Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Bringing together cultures

I recently got contacted through this forum by a Chinese man who simply had the following to say ‘I like marathon – keep write about marathon’.

Simple message, but one that is load and clear. Through this forum we are creating bridges to different cultures. This is another of the beautiful things about running. It can more than any other sport transcend language and cultural barriers across the globe.

You see there is no need to speak in running - merely the joy of floating alongside someone else as our ancestors did many years ago.

A few months ago when I was still in heavy Comrades training, I was fortunate enough to run with a gent from South Korea who was here on holiday in Sydney. He was training for a marathon in South Korea and we ran a alongside each other for about 15km. His English was limited and my Korean is nonexistent, so we communicated through the power of sport and the run. When either of us pushed the pace abit, the other followed until we reached his hotel and he shook my hand, bowed and ran inside.

I have also shared many great runs with a group of young British and American exchange students.

Another friend shared a story with me about a recent trip through Europe. Being the European summer, he was keen to run in as many cities as he could and take in the sites that way and I don’t blame him. He shared many amazing stories of running with people in villages and even of elderly Greek and Italian folks running along with him – not to chat for they did not understand each other, but merely to share in the beauty of the day out on the run.

I hope to share a similar experience on my next trip to Europe.

Keep running and breaking down cultural barriers – Sean Muller

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