Some years ago I had the pleasure of running with the winner of the Sydney marathon the day after the race. He was of course only on a recovery run and showed me just why he was so successful in his sport. He said to me that in the west people ran for their health, but in Kenya people ran because it was a way of life. They formed packs together and so no one ever felt out of place. There was always a group going and from that group formation and ideal success came.
Similarly today I had that experience with some Japanese runners. Running as a pack in Sydney for the betterment of the group. They run hard, but always loop back and pickup the slowest (that being me today).
More often than not you don't even need to say anything on the run, just a few nods and away we went. It reminded me also of a trip to Hong Kong some years ago when I fell in with a Chinese squad where the female coach barked orders at them and then told me I was okay for a white man.
Running together (while overcoming language barriers), stride for stride on a life changing ride. -- Sean Muller
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