Once a Runner

I, like many of you, am a product of the running boom. I refer to the running boom that took place between 1976 and 1985 when road running took off as a sport. The 40-50 year old age group is currently the largest age group of runners in every road race, 10 years ago it was the 30-40 age group, we just keep moving up. We are the running boomers. A new running boom has been taking place fueled by women new to the sport. I believe the new boomers will follow the pattern of the last boom.

Lots of trendy aerobic activities have come along since the beginning of the running boom and I believe us runners help fuel the numbers in each craze. Many of us took aerobics classes, bought mountain bikes, entered a spinning class, bought a kayak, dabbled in martial arts and climbed a rock wall.

I also believe us running boomers play big part of the end of each craze. We go back to running.

We boomers jumped on the triathlon bandwagon of the mid 1980s. Were we triathletes? In theory, we knew that to be better triathletes we should have spent most of our time in the pool or on the saddle, not running. In practice, we biked and swam but mostly, we ran. We always found time to keep the running miles up and not let our running fitness level slip. I found this to be the case with many other triathletes I met. The runners ran, the bikers biked, and the swimmers swam, when we should have been training harder at the other disciplines, not our own. That is, "if" we were really triathletes. I did meet some true multi-sports athletes but not many. Athletes who trained in all disciplines according to what would ultimately make them race the triathlon faster. I would guess that they were athletes who never really found "their" sport, now they had. Through the triathlon years we found out that we were runners, not multi-sports athletes. The numbers of athletes entering triathlons dropped as we went back to our running roots. Perhaps we did not like keeping up with the technology like clip-less pedals, racing wet suits, aero bars and disk wheels. Was it that we didnt like having to drive to a pool, look for a locker and wait for a lane only to find the water was too cold or warm? We found that it was impossible to dress properly to bike in winter let alone ride on snow. We found stationary trainers were loud and expensive. The triathlon had convinced us, we were born to run.

Time moves on. Currently, adventure racing is all the craze. Hike, crawl, paddle, climb, ride, swim, rappel and then do a crossword puzzle. Looks like a fun way to spend an active day. We can drag out all the toys we have bought along the way. We running boomers have been first in line. Will this be our new life? I think not. I believe most runners will find they dont really like equipment end of sports, that is, the bike, the kayak, the tent, ropes, roof racks we wont like dragging the stuff around, buying it, upgrading it, cleaning it or fixing it. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the simple uncomplicated nature of our sport. We will always head back to being runners. I have seen this happen already.

So, why are we runners such lemmings when it comes to fad aerobic sports? Ive been giving it some thought. I was a sucker for the ABC Wide World of Sports coverage of the Ironman Triathlon. Perhaps the simplicity of our sport leaves us looking for more adventure, excitement and visibility. How can running compete with the life on the edge, the danger of climbing a mountain followed by an I-Max film of the event? How can running compete with the lure of the many extreme events on ESPN-2? Events filled with speed and danger surrounded by cool commercials for Mountain Dew? My answer, it will, it always has. Once a runner, always a runner.

Whats next for the running boomers and for the sport of running? We have learned something from all this dabbling with adventure and especially doing it in the natural environment. We will run. We will run longer. We will run marathons in wild new places. We will run more trails. We will run ultra-marathons on trails. We will run into remote jungles, up snow covered mountains and we will run in extreme conditions. We will run in adventurer running races and relay races. I believe that triathlon and adventure racing has opened our eyes to the possibilities of our own sport. What can be more extreme than an adventure race with no equipment? The simple human power of running. We will run on adventure teams and in adventure relays. We will take our sport to a new extreme.

Run forever,
Randy Step