The love of it

I was standing around this morning watching my daughter playing hockey and I happened to have a very interesting conversation with a fellow dad that I know from school.

This dad is a guy that I have spoken to before about running, in particular how you do it. A while ago he was keen to start running and he wasn't sure how. I gave him some basics and in the year or so since then we have chatted at various school functions about what else he can do to take his running a step further. It has been interesting to watch his progress from a distance.

His running has been progressing slowly, but steadily and now he is keen to regularly tick of 10km, which he feels is about the right distance for him, without a strong desire to go further. All good stuff.

Chatting to him, what I was finding great was just how much enjoyment he has been getting out of running. Life changing was the term he used. It is amazing to think that such a simple thing as getting out the door and going for a jog could have such a profound effect, but it certainly has for him. Running and his enjoyment of it is pretty much all he wants to talk about. His enthusiasm is impressive and a kind of refreshing. In a world of often tired and sometimes jaded athletes, it can be a breath of fresh air to find somebody who simply does it for the love of it.

It just goes to show that sometimes you don't need to be setting the world alight to be achieving a fulfilling goal. It doesn't have to be about Ironman or a marathon. Sometimes all you need is the simple pleasure of getting out the door and putting one foot in front of the other.

Simple can really be better.