"Wear Sunscreen" - The marathon version

theFinishLine · 12-06-2009 10:25am #1

Was just listening to the Baz Luhrmann "Wear Sunscreen" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen) speech/song last night. Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq_A8nXMsQ

A few changes of lyrics here and there renders it a reasonably good essay for running folk :-)

POSITIVE THINKING

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 2009
If I could offer you only one tip for the marathon, positive thinking would be
it. The long term benefits of positive thinking have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experienceI will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your running youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your running youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself in races and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the running future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing in every race that scares you.

Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s races, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours. Taper. Don’t waste your time on jealousy of other runners; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind the marathon is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the running compliments you receive, forget the insults; Keep your old race results, throw away your old race numbers. Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your running
life the most interesting runners I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll do an ultra, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll do a triathlon,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll still do sub-3 at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on the finish line of your 75th marathon: what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either your
running choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..

Train - even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the race day directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read runners world magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know older runners, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you for marathons in the future. Understand that runners come and go, but for the precious few you
should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were a younger runner. Run the New York City marathon once, but leave before it makes you hard; Run the
in Amsterdam marathon once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel to marathons.

Accept certain inalienable truths, races will get faster, chip timing will take over, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were younger, runners were tougher, nobody needed chip timing and runners respected their running elders.

Respect your running elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you running.
Maybe you will always wear technical gear, maybe you become a wealthy by running; but you never know when either one might run out.

During races don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose running advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Often running advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the positive thinking