The Chosen Few
By Dave Kromer
In the pages of road-racing history, there are numerous heroic stories of wounded warriors who beat the odds, coming back
from potentially career-ending and even life-threatening injuries and medical problems. Amongst the ranks of the Greater
Lowell Road Runners alone, a mere cursory glance into that fading memory bank of mine yields dark memories of sordid tales
of shattered bones, gimpy knees, cardiac irregularities, fractured feet and all the rest... Yet, even when the odds were against
them, somehow the chosen few emerged from the depths, up from the ashes, and returned to those roads they'd run in years
gone by.
Although it was over a year ago, I can clearly remember a conversation I had with one of the club's renowned masters runners
as if it was only yesterday. In his words, a nasty injury had rendered him incapable of approaching the level of fitness to which
he was accustomed. It was fun while it lasted, but now it was time for recreational running with the kids. After shaking his hand
and wishing him well, there was one word which came to mind as he headed off into the distance. Sure. Then last week, as I
was browsing through the club newsletter, there he was, in black and white (or green and yellow, if you will) back up among
the top ranks of the masters team results. Surprise, surprise!
So you're down and out, hurt real bad. Get ready, because sometimes dealing with that roller-coaster medical bureaucracy of
ours can be almost as frustrating as the injury itself. But you have no choice. I hope you timed your injury with a period where
you're privileged enough to have medical coverage or you could be in big trouble (given your usual level of fitness, you thought
of yourself as a well-oiled machine, an indy car. Well don't be surprised when your doctor informs you that his lofty goal is to
make you "functional" again. As you frantically scan the Sunday paper for Dunkin Donuts coupons (the hell with those Fresh
Pond results) you begin to wonder if you're ever gonna get back into it again...
But for some runners, it's not a question of if they come back. It's merely a question of when? What is it about the running game
that motivates these individuals to endure terrible injuries and stick with it so long? Sure, there's the health benefits, the social
element, the competitive aspect and that great endorphin fix. However, well below that surface level, there is also a much
deeper side to all of this. For the chosen few, running provides the opportunity to put their physical and mental limitations on the
line and to find out what they're really made of. As one grows older, the mental desire and physical capacity to stay healthy andcontinue this experience becomes an increasingly challenging endeavor.
For many, the road racing scene sets the stage for both triumph and great tragedy. There are some days where it's Fantasyland
and things go perfectly, and others when you barely make it across the finish line. In that twilight zone that one enters in the
latter stages of a long-distance race, there's just no telling what's in the cards for you on any given day. At times you may be
lucky enough to be running with your friends or teammates, other times you're in the company of strangers. Are you picking
things up and moving on ahead, being swallowed up by others, or is your strategy merely to hold on and maintain your
position? How and when do you try to ditch that guy whose been shadowing you all race long? The chosen few yearn for
situations such as these, knowing full well that there are few rewards in life that can top the exhilarating feeling you get from
putting yourself on the line and accomplishing what you set out to do.
For some, injuries have taken their toll and thinned them from the ranks, an unfortunate fact of life. Age may have dulled the
competitive fire which once burned inside your belly in the earlier ways of your youth. In other cases, it's really just a matter of
priorities. Family and social life may be eating up all of your time. That fast-track career path may have become the primary
focus of your life. To your horror, you wake up to find that you're now 20 years older, 40 pounds heavier and you've just been
laid off from work. And you thought that happy-go-lucky running fanatic who works at Kmart for minimum wage should grow
up and get his priorities straight? The chosen few value their treasure, take full advantage of it, and have learned to savor the
simple rewards that their running provides.
So who the hell are those chosen few and where can I find them? I guess Charles Darwin would say they are the "fittest," and
they are everywhere. They must surely sip from the fountain of youth because you see them on the roads every day, month after
month, year after year. To these guys, birthdays are no different than the other 364 days of the year. They would much rather
be out there on the playing field than be rotting away up there in the grandstand. They may vanish for months or even years at a
time, but given their desire and determination, you are never surprised by their return. Talent or ability level are not the key
ingredients here. The difference between these individuals and all the rest is that even as the years pass by, their quest for
fulfillment through their running continues...