Why We Run and Climb

Most of us get asked from time to time, why do you do what you do?  Why do you run marathons?  Why do you want to climb mountains?  Especially when the experience can be so – well – hard and distasteful.

Sir Edmund Hillary gave the supposedly flippant comment, “Because it’s there” – referring to his first successful attempt to summit Everest.

A friend asked me today why I run and climb in the context of a larger conversation and it got me to thinking about the real reasons and for people I know who do these crazy things.

I’ve met lots of people in both sports and here’s some of what I’ve seen in both areas:

Marathons and Running

Some people start off to lose weight.  That was my original reason.  I needed a reason to get back in shape and entering the 2002 Stockholm Marathon I thought would motivate me to train regularly and keep the weight down.  It worked to an extent, but I found (much later) that you cannot run off the calories you take in.  One only burns about 800 cals/hour at top speed and average weight, and a couple of candy bars and other junk food will put you over our daily limit pretty quickly.

Others love the competition and trying to break their own personal records and finishing in good time.  I think this comes in progress with more confidence and getting better.  The problem comes when the clock is more important than enjoying the experience.  My priorities are always to finish first and of course to go for a PR – but some days you have it and some you don’t.

Many people do it simply for the achievement and satisfaction with doing something that no one can ever take away from you.  The feeling of finishing a marathon (or half) is indescribable and no matter how bad you feel, the pain over the next days is a badge of courage.

There are books written on this topic and I can only hope to scratch the surface in this posting but I know there are tons of reasons that are much more personal and intimate.  Do we do it for the feeling of self-control and managing one section of our own lives?  Are we running away from, or towards something?  Are we trying to stave off the hands of time and prove that we’re still young?  Can we really find those moments of pure enjoyment when the scenery and surroundings are just so beautiful that your feet carry away your cares?  Or is it the time to think and turn things over in your head while running with no one else to disturb your thoughts?  Or, is it compensation for another shortcoming in their lives that we make up with our feet?  All good questions for another post ….

Climbing

I’ve met a number of climbers over the past two years and they are all a very special group of people.  Contrary to popular belief not everyone is in perfect shape and sometimes they pay on the mountain and sometimes they prove that size and girth don’t matter when the mind can overcome the hardest things that nature can throw you.

My inspiration started when my colleague Karen gave me “Into Thin Air” in December 2005 just as I had one more marathon to complete for Seven Continents.  Though there is nothing in the book that should inspire someone to take up running, I saw it as the next big Adventure and Goal and signed up for my first mountaineering course in summer of 2006 and have gone on to be fairly lucky so far in my endeavors.  I’ve learned a lot since then, especially that good runners or triathletes don’t necessarily translate to success on the mountain.

I do know people who are climbing to escape a bad relationship or life in general but most climbers are pretty nuts anyway and have their own reasons.  A lot of climbers are after goals (Seven Summits) or 14ers, or other lists of mountains.  Most climbers I’ve met have an inner strength and life/career success that they look to leverage on the mountain.

However, the big challenge is that someone else is leading and guiding and even if you’re the most successful CEO or company owner, you’re not in control or in charge on the mountain as someone else is.   So, its about giving up control and pushing yourself in the most uncomfortable positions and days.

As in running the big thing is that no one can ever take the experience from you – with the biggest difference being that the weather or timing or injuries can prevent you from summiting, no matter how much work you’ve done.  But there is a much bigger letdown after climbing than from running.  Kind of like a post-partum depression.  When you’re on the mountain, all you can think of is getting back to your life and partner and friends and bed and food and bathrooms and even your job!

After about a week however, all you can think of is when the next time will be (I guess like a drug addiction?).  Since my next big mountain (Antarctica/Vinson) is more than a year away and Everest is more than 18 months away, it’s even harder to train and keep mentally fit with it being so far away.  Although it’s nice for it to to be in the distant future, it’s hard not to have that immediate pressure coming up.

So, it’s not about it “being there”, it’s more about “well-being”.  Proving to yourself and those you know that you have something in you that’s so strong, so invincible, so tough, that you appreciate everything in life afterwards (even on the worst days).  You appreciate relationships even more so, since you have so much time to think on the mountain, endless days of trekking and trudging and what you want from your life – what you have or what you need or want.

That’s why We Run and Climb ….

I’d love to hear your comments and post them … Why do YOU Run?  Why do YOU Climb?  What got you started?  What keeps you going?  Look forward to your responses!