I Can Dream, Can't I?

Dean Karnazes was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people this year, because of his ultramarathon status and dedication to inspiring others, particularly children about fitness. Dean's book Ultramarathon Man, which came out the same year I was cranking up into running, '05, was one of the vehicles that inspired me to reach beyond my perceived limitations. Even now that I can manage steady mileage, there is an ultra-runner in me; more and more I'm having dreams of treks and travels, reunifications and meetups with people I don't know in strange locations. I keep getting the pressing sense of parallel levels and lives which impinge upon me and layer tendencies and passions one to another. Vitae once gave me glimpses into potential past lives in which my role as messenger was prominent, which in ancient days meant posting through runners. There is something which overtakes me when I find the 'groove' that feels more than spiritually transcendent, it's a 'right fit'- a knowing, that like other things I can do intuitively well comes naturally.

All this takes into account that I am neither fast nor super athletic. Compared to most anyone my age I suppose I am fit. I know I don't look my age. I haven't been sick in so long, I can't remember the last time. I am not as lean as I'd like, or as muscular. I don't have the body type that seems to 'muscle up' like some runners do, with their super sculpted legs and abs. But today, when I ran consistently into Ike's remaining winds, I managed to call on core strength that surprised even me; ok, so it whipped me in the end. But I did a respectable 7 miler with one stop- through wind gusts that felt like hills all the way.

I look at Dean's picture and I pull his large, masculine mass into me. I think of 50 marathons in 50 days, or the Great Western or any number of other events he's done and call on his endurance and passion to permeate the molecules of my own soul. I know there is transformation potential that goes way beyond what we believe is possible in this life; I know it because it comes from sources which defy our limited scope of understanding and logic, and because I have been transformed through the years from broken to whole.

So, run on, Dean, and my other heroes who remind us of journeys, effort and accomplishments. It's all heart when you're out there on the long roads. And it's high hopes amidst formidable odds which always brings you home.