The air is so cold and suddenly I think of how tired and exposed I am in this world. I’m alone, my body is in so much pain, and a surge of panic goes through me as I think of how scary this is.
I go running through the pricker bush which causes more pain but the butterfly is following me to the river. I reach the river and the water is freezing this time of year and the rocks are covered in slime. I’m too afraid to cross. Suddenly, I lose my footing and fall into the river and I gasp for air in the icy water. Finally, I scramble onto a rock and get out of there as quickly as possible.
On my hands and knees as I’m looking for air to breath. I realize that there is nothing to be afraid of anymore. I just have to focus on the next step that I’m taking. So I get up and start running again. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. This is running through my head. My emotions turn to happiness and excitement as I feel the sun on my back. Many runners at this point are walking and complaining about the pain. Not me. Onward I go. My body starts naturally going where it’s supposed to, I stop stressing and I’m responding well to what’s in front of me as I run through the woods only tripping once on a root.
The minutes pass quickly. Hours are flying by. My confidence rises. Soon I’m running up and down the mountains, through the rivers with my eyes wide open and my senses are alert. I see the finish line and run as fast as I can. I crossed the finish line with the Rolling Stones song, “Brown Sugar” blaring. I did it!
I had completed my first ultra-marathon. Well, my first marathon really. I learned my first lesson in Zen and this is my first ever blog entry. As I sit here writing with my Stickboy orange flavored coffee, I raise my mug to those that dare to dream and to those that work so hard to achieve those goals that others think are impossible!
By Tom Hall, Founder and Owner of Stickboy Coffee