I love reading motivating quotes, phrases, and words before I work out. I am a big believer of visualization, and picturing success before I attempt my event. 90% of the motivation I seek for my training- running, triathlon, lifting, etc- is positive in nature. However, sometimes- juuuuust sometimes- I read something negative in nature and it makes me want to DESTROY the author’s vision or mission. When this happens, I use every negative and incorrect sentence, theory, and theme to push me to run faster, lift heavier, and work harder.
It is the very reason that I can dig deep down and pull out my BEST athletic performances.I read an article last night written by Chad Stafko, which was published in the Wall Street Journal. The article, titled “OK, you’re a runner. Get over it” was the author’s best attempt at criticizing and chastising anyone who has ever sped up their gait beyond a sloth-like pace. Stafko begins the article by saying that anyone with a 26.2 or 13.1 sticker on the back of their car has one for the sole purpose of showing off their running feats to non-runners like himself. Yes, Mr. Stafko, the entire world MUST revolve around you. What a self-centered statement; do not assume that anyone is using an ounce of their energy to incite a reaction out of you. Instead, perhaps people are actually proud of their accomplishments. Maybe they feel that a label such as 13.1 is a shout out to fellow runners and athletes. I suspect (since I have these and many other similar stickers on my car) that the reason behind these displays of accomplishment is positive in nature, and meant to propel runners to continue striving for greatness. It frightens me to think about what your potential theory is behind “No Farms, No Food” bumper stickers.
The author continues by pointing out that the popularity of running has skyrocketed in the United States, with 2.5 million more runners finishing events in 2012 than in 2010. Is this supposed to be a BAD thing, Mr. Stafko? People lacing up and taking part in a community 5k, the proceeds of which likely go to a charitable cause, is supposed to be something to complain about???
Not to mention, getting 2.5 million MORE people to move might help us lower the overall cost of healthcare, just a teeny bit.It sounds like someone might have been the last one picked for Dodgeball on the playground in 2nd grade…. Just sayin’.
Mr. Stafko does not stop his cranky diatribe before addressing the social media problem associated with runners. He claims that much like a “selfie” on Facebook is a desperate oh-please-look-at-me plea, that a person out on the roads for a run is a “one person parade”, begging for attention.
Excuse me while I burst out in a fit of laughter………………………………. OK I’m back. That statement is just plain ridiculous. Again, Mr. Stafko assumes that other people’s actions (namely runners) are centered around a statement to HIM. Here we go again with the self-inflated view of the world. Do you actually believe that the entire world (okay, maybe just anyone who enjoys moving at ALL) is out to get you? What a miserable outlook; it’s no wonder you write such rude articles. I won’t even get into the scores of benefits and positive outcomes that people get from sharing achievements and accomplishments with one another. I’ll just throw out a few words: support, motivation, community, pride, courage, affirmation, inspiration. Just a few OTHER reasons why people might be Tweeting about their last run, aside from making you cringe.
The last sentence of Mr. Stafko’s article is one of my favorites. He states that he recently saw a bumper sticker that says 0.0 and says “I’ll take one of those, please”. I could go on and on with jokes about 0 being the amount of friends he has, his intelligence level, or a million other jabs.
But, the more important message here is that Mr. Stafko is a hypocrite. By his own standards, displaying that bumper sticker on his car would be a braggardly claim to all fit people that he chooses not to run, not to move, and not to take action in his own life. Mr. Stafko’s theory, applied to his own action, would mean that the owner of the 0.0 bumper sticker-ed car, sitting on a park bench eating a donut…or sitting on their couch watching TV…. or sitting at a desk at work….or sitting at a table at dinner in a restaurant…etc, would be doing so for the SOLE purpose of pissing off all the folks running by.
I would like to thank Mr. Stafko for writing his article. Not only did he prove his own idiocy, but he also gave me that awesome feeling of fired-upness that gets me in the gym, or on the road for one HELLUVA workout. I am pretty sure that I’m not alone when I say that his article may be responsible for people all over the country shaving time off of their mile. You’re actually making runners FASTER, Mr. Stafko. And you know what that means?! More stickers.