Running on Empty

I know what it’s like to lose. Eons ago I came in last in a cross country race. Well, last is a bit of a stretch. In reality I came in so last that a search party was being formed. I was so far behind the next-to-last finisher I received an ovation from both teams competing in the meet. I’ve always assumed that the ovation had more to do with hunger and being cold than it did with my finally finishing the course. I’d like to say I came in last due to getting lost, but that’s not what happened. I earned last all on my own. I was simply not ready to race at the level of that particular meet. I was new to the sport at a time when running was not a common activity. This race was two years before the running boom hit and Eugene Oregon became Mecca for runners. Running shoes had to be specially ordered and people asked what you were running from. I guess you could say I was behind my time.

I learned a great deal from finishing last that November morning in Arkansas. I know what it’s like to fail and I know what it’s like to lose. If losing builds character I have character. If losing teaches a person the finer points of winning I am finely pointed. If simply finishing is a victory I came away victorious. And, I am a better person for the experience. Why? Because there’s going to be a loss in every life and the earlier we learn to deal with the failures the better we will navigate life. Imagine if your first major flop came at age forty? How would you deal with it? Not gracefully in all likelihood. Yes, it’s better to learn to lose as a freshman cross country runner in a race you never should have run. So, in case this same thing happens to you, remember that last place really isn’t so bad. In the end, life isn’t measured by when you finish, but by how you finish!

MM