OWL-DRAGON

Thoughts From The List

I subscribe to a listserv (a discussion group on the internet). The group is the Dead Runners Society and while to topics vary, they almost always revolve around running. Here follows my reflections on three recent threads.

Two of the runners reflected on how the enthusiasm has gone out of their running. I responded with:


Among saints there are mystics who had ecstatic
experiences. It is said that they get a glimpse of
the divine and hence of heaven, but frequently these
same saints experience a dark night of the soul - a
"lengthy and profound absence of light and hope. In
the dark night you feel profoundly alone." The dark
night comes on for no readily explicable reason but
seems to be a necessary part of that experience.

It doesn't seem unlikely that highly competative runners
experience a similar phenomenon in their running
lives. The mystics are of course more likely to be
subject to the dark night because they have come so
close to the light. Plodders like me while not immune
are less likely - our peaks are lower but our valleys
are less deep.

I have almost always been mid pack and I run not for
the expectation of great results but for fear of what
will happen if I dare stop.

Good luck guys - hang in there. The great saints did
and were often rewarded with even deeper experiences.

Music and listening to it frequently comes up in list discussions. So favor it and some abhor it. This thread got started when someone asked about Ipods and skipping:

I have always favored listening to music while running
and often became impatient when Runners World would
lecture about not using headphones and their
insistentance on the dangers of headphones. That said
recently I have forgone music as often as I have
use it and ironically I have no mp3 player but
continue to use an old Panasonic cassette player. It
has taken quite a beating and keeps working - it uses
one double A battery that last for hours.

There are two programs I enjoy and will sometimes
schedule a run around:

A local stationhas a program on Sunday mornings that plays Elvis for
three hours. The disc jockey is a lot of fun and is full
of trivia about the King and his music. Makes a three
hour run fly.

On Saturdays Temple University's radio station plays
From the Top.
This is a show that spotlights young classical musicians.
It's only an hour but it is followed by opera from the Met.
I probably wouldn't sit and listen to either of these
shows so running allows me to enjoy some great music.
(For reasons beyond my comprehension Philadelphia has
no full time classical radio station - a few years
back when the WFLN the classical station went off air
Temple WRTI picked up classical music part time much
to the consternation of jazz fans who lost jazz air
time.)

The next thread began when someone posted about the animals one might see while on the run. My contribution follows:

I have written in the past about my fascination with
seeing wild animals on my runs. Admittedly, my life
list is quite a bit tamer then Sally's but I have
enjoyed my glimpses of deer, rabbits, groundhogs,
foxes, chipmunks, egrets, hawks, and vultures. Even
close to home, I have seen in early mornings raccoons
scurry into the sewer and possums sauntering along
barely aware of my presence. I have gotten to run thru
a zoo but I guess those sightings don't count. But
running on the beach I have seen all the various shore
birds, crabs and jellyfish, and even pods of dolphins
off in the surf. I have seen paths covered with wooly
caterpillers and fields full of wonderful butterflies.
I have seen hundreds of robins gathered together and
came home one morning to see my house surrounded by
mourning doves. All winter my wood has been populated
by bright red cardinals and in a couple of weeks will
fill with many other birds back from their winter
holidays. All this for a city boy like myself is
quite wonderful.