I don't know about you but my running, when I'm running that is, goes far beyond that of running for fitness, for an increase in pace and speed or to get that endorphin fueled high; that feeling of well-being that comes after a good run or training session. My running, as described in my earlier blogs, is about moving through nature, about using the five senses; to touch, taste, smell, hear and see all that might be along my path. There is a sixth sense in operation sometimes too; a sense of joining, a sense of being part of nature's wider community, an expansion of consciousness, if you will, that allows the mind to become still and enjoy new horizons. There is a beautiful description in the Katha-Upanishad that I like to apply to my running, especially as it helps me to remember that 'I am not my body'. To quote: 'Self rides in the chariot of the body, intellect the firm footed charioteer, discursive mind the reigns. Senses are the horses, objects of desire the roads'. Yogi's say that: 'When the five organs of perception (the senses) become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the highest state. This firm holding back of the senses is what is known as Yoga'. Yoga running then, is perhaps what I do when I am not caught up in the world. Although I like miles, miles are not really what matters on my journey; it's what unfolds along the way that counts. To use a quote taken from Ursula Le Guin's feminist science fiction book, The Left Hand of Darkness, 'It is good to have an end to journey towards but it is the journey that matters in the end'. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a downer on training runs, in fact I am quite good at training; all those recovery runs, the thresholds, the Kenyan hills, the Sunday long runs and the cold baths afterwards, I do them all. Talking about miles reminds me of my little penchant for ultra running. Ultra running brings its own peculiarities to the body/mind arena; hallucinations for one and moments of bliss for another. Personally speaking, I find it far less painful to run 54 or 62 miles* than to run a flat out from the gun 5K. Some ultra runners cover the miles for the express purpose of seeking out spiritual ecstasy; to lose sight of their everyday world and to bathe in inner harmony and to be one with their God. Sri Chinmoy for one set up the Self-Transcendence series of races to promote spiritual growth through sport and uses distances from 2 miles to 3100 miles to do this. Other ultra runners have set up communities expressly for the purpose of running extreme miles in their quest for spiritual ecstasy and fulfilment. Divine Madness are one such community and, seen as a cult to some, their methods are much talked about. When these guy's arrange to meet up for a run, they think nothing of running 30 miles or so to the arranged meeting place and then they run some more before going home again. 'Divine Madness', what a running club name that would make. I think I'll set up a UK branch just to get the T-shirt but I won't be doing those extreme miles, I can tell you!
* Reference to the Thames Meander and the Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset 100K
No comments:
Post a Comment