Human activities require one to roleplay in a stage where everyone else has a role to play (redundant and unnecessary to use "roleplay" and the jumbled form of it in the same line).
Running is not one of those human activities.
It's a selfish act.
And again, not that it should.
Unlike other sports, running is about making every drop of the sweat worth it, no matter what it takes. This means, blocking all distractions, including other runners, when trying to get to a certain goal. It's a serious endeavor, and though it is the most natural form of sports, it does not take into consideration the other members of the competition. Even relay runs advocate its own selfishness. Though it might involve teamplayers, when a member has already relayed the responsibility to another, it negates the team aspect of it.
Running is about the runner. Running is running.
Put basketball into this perspective - the sport is about dribbling, shooting, defense, offense, hoops, and every imaginable ankle breaking endeavors. It was never meant to be about one thing. Other sports promote the same thing. Football is about, well, every concussion and whatever it is that athletes do with their God-given muscles. Table tennis is about top spin and all kinds of spinning unimaginable in the spinning world.
Running, on the other hand, advocates only itself. There are techniques and strategies, of course, but there is no other form of running. Because if it was another kind, it'll be exhibitionism, not running.
That's why it has a pressing urge to be selfish.
I keep saying it shouldn't, because I see a different scenario whenever I have to personally engage in a competition or even when going out for a leisure run just for the sake of it.
There's every bit of opportunity to excel in running. There is the last mile to think about, the last push to get you from point A to B, struggling or not. Every day is an inevitability to run because with only a pair of shoes, you can run like hell, or shit. Of course, there are the hydration belts, the dri-fit, the hydration pack, the energy gel, but these are only optional.
As a runner, you aim for a target. If you suddenly aim for self-serving ideas of running - the fame, the bragging rights, the far-fetched stories, the flatulence from the ego - it defeats the purpose of running. I see people deprived of the ability to buy new equipment and they are the ones who make the most of every mile, because they know for themselves they can always take satisfaction from the littlest things, those that can't be bought, those that come from the love of running. The love of running.
Running is a selfish act, but not that it should.
You run when everyone else isn't. You run alone. You run without excuses. You run not smiling, or too much of it. You run not because everyone else is.
That's where the selfish part comes to play, but all good runners know that it isn't absolutely necessary to act like a selfish prick.
As a runner, a fledgling at that, I wish to do it without the reward, without the spotlight, and definitely, without the perks that come people's praises. I will run because as a selfish person, I can be unselfish when running.
And personally, I have my brother-in-law to thank for it. And my family. And my dogs who are always excited to see me home after every run. Must be the sweat.
I just ran a half marathon, and I must say, people's crooked ideas of running ruin the sport that I learned to love, just like photography where getting a DSLR makes you professional. There's a slight difference with a DSLR as a bling-bling and a camera as a professional equipment.
And flatulence is different from enthusiasm. All the pun intended.
It's not going to stop me, though, to struggle to reach the last mile the next time, because regardless if people have already shifted to another self-serving activity, I'd still run.
Running is a selfish act. Not that it should.
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