Encouragement is a huge part of running races. Spectators and runners alike are encouraging during the races. Many of you have been very encouraging to me, especially my wife. Last night I was talking to my friend Joe about my nerves going into the marathon. He showed me this quote by Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
As I eat my pasta and baked potato and drink my gatorade doing my best to be ready for tomorrow, Joe and others have helped me realize that the biggest accomplishment in all this is stepping into the arena. That applies to many areas in life, not just sports. What is daring to you that is out of the ordinary? What preparations/training do you need to make in your journey towards reaching that goal?
12 more hours!
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