Running: The hardest sport ever

My favorite sport is looked down upon as being a weak sport

Published on February 29, 2004 By TARSIER In Sports & Leisure

I know I am going to get bashed for this, but I believe that Cross Country, Track, and any other sport that is solely dependent on one's strength of will and there speed/endurance is the hardest sport one can come by. These sports are not just as physically challenging or moreso, than let's say football, or basketball, but the psychological strain is almost unbearable. You are not just using a seasons preparation to destroy your adversary by unconquerable defence, or a never ending string of points, but you are fighting against the most ruthless, ironic, strict, and unbeatable opponent ever created by man. Time. Ramses II had fought wars, stopped revolts, toppled world leaders, yet he worked so hard to gain supremacy over Egypt, and after all this, when he thought he was finally complete with all of his buildings, he realized that in time, no person would remember his great architectural masterpieces. He was defeated by something he could not fight. This is quite the same in endurance/running sports. You may be in first place in the world, but you still lose to time. It always beats you, yet you fight on, trying to conquer it one second at a time. Have you ever played a game and then realized you had absolutely no chance of winning? How did that make you feel? Did you even continue to try? If you think you still did try as hard as you could in that game, despair played a role in your performance. I think running is a life lesson in this way: You have your hills and holes that you must either avoid or climb up, you have your competitors who always seem ahead of you, the clock never stops for a time-out, and you get weaker and weaker every step of the way. Do you stop and take a break? You can, but then more will just pass you by on the race. Do you sprint your life out, plan ahead to every detail of your life? No, of course not, you take it slow and do things as they come, preparing only for the essential parts. Why waste time and energy worrying when you could be saving or using that time for a better purpose. Life is a journey and a race. Don't race ahead of everyone else, but you cannot stop and take breaks in your journey because you will wish you hadn't. So live your life to your fullest, don't burn yourself out, and don't stop for a breather because by the time your ready again, you will be all alone.

Good Luck and have a swell day,
Jay

Comments

Ben Belden

on Feb 29, 2004

After reading over what you wrote, I agree with you on most of your points, but not a few major ones. For one, I've never considered running itself a sport. Now, you say cross-country and track, and yes, I would be willing to argue that these are in fact sports, but simply running is not. And that's where my problems come in. Because yes, events like this are based solely on a person's strength of will and stamina. But doesn't a sport like football also require someone to be able to deal with the mental aspects of the game? I used to play football, so I know that it is not a purely physical game. There is a lot of mental preparation that goes into it, learning plays, focusing on 10 teammates and 11 opponents. I'm not saying it is anywhere near as purely psychological as running is, I agree with you on that, running is one man against himself and others. But at the same time, if you lose in running, you have no one to blame but yourself and you have only let yourself down. When you are on a team, not only do you have to deal with letting yourself down, but also deal with letting down your teammates. And I understand that in track events and cross-country you are part of a team as well, but I don't think it's the same kind of teamwork as sports where a team is absolutely necessary.

I'm sorry if it seemed like I was putting down running, I wasn't. I'm guessing that you are yourself a runner which is why you realize its importance. Not having ever been a runner myself, I'm not in the same mindset you are. I like your philosophy of running as life, I have no qualms with that. I guess it's just, a person is always going to think that their respective sport is much more complex and demanding than any other sport, and so I can understand what you are trying to explain about running, but I myself don't agree with you. But I would never want to debate you on such as issue because I mean, you provide a pretty compelling arguement.

TARSIER

on Feb 29, 2004

Thank You for the comment, but I disagree with somethings you say.

"For one, I've never considered running itself a sport."

I disagree, and to back up my point, I am going to cite the American Heritage Dictionary(not the most reliable source, but it will do)

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

You could say running does have it's rules and customs, such as share the trails, don't run in the middle of the road, and don't harrass others could be all customs.

I also am not saying that sports like football do not have a mental side, because I also have played football, and teammates are important, and you do have to worry about them. Yet this goes both ways, if you screw up, someone can be their to pick you back up. Everyone works as a team, so if one falls, it hurts the others, but you can recover. This makes my point so much stronger, and I thank you. When you fall, there is no one to pick you back up, only people to push you back down.

Ben Belden

on Feb 29, 2004

>>An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

>>You could say running does have it's rules and customs, such as share the trails, don't run in the middle of the road, and don't harrass others could be all customs.

Well, I was just speaking personally and I was thinking more along the lines of running for fun. Like, I said, I agree that track and cross-country are sports, as is any event where you are running to compete against others, even if it is just an informal race. Just to make a joke here, by the strict defintion of a sport you presented, one could consider something like walking up stairs a sport. You physically exert yourself, there are rules and customs such as stay on the right side, don't pass others, and it could be undertaken competitively, although that's a stretch. The point is, just about anything is open to interpretation and I meant absolutely no disrespect towards running. I could never do it and I admire people who can.

Dan Kaschel

on Feb 29, 2004

Yes, you will get bashed, but I won't do the bashing.

Try to make more paragraphs out of a chunk like that. It's easier to read.

~Dan

BulbousHead

on Feb 29, 2004

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

Sounds like the annual hot dog eating contest is a sport, then, too.

Muggaz

on Feb 29, 2004

I actually beleive Ice Hockey would be the hardest sport ever...

If you think running around with no objective other than to do it fast is harder than skating very fast on Ice, whilst controlling a puck, while 2 dudes are skating towards you with the intention of perhaps knocking your teeth out is easier than running... then you are really hardcore, and i would be scared to run into you in a dark alley.

BAM!!!

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