Well, why not be ahead of time ?
I have identified my great running goal for the spring season 2008, namely the challenge of five marathons in five consecutive days. The event takes place in Southern Sweden, so if you are up to it, I think you should join.
Read more about this crazyness here (in Swedish).
Im 16 years old, it is summer and I take the local city train to and from a lousy job. Each day in the train I see an old man with the bluest eyes you can imagine. Eyes that look directly through people, through time, through history, through all love and tragedy of a human lifetime. I never spoke with this man, but he is one of my great teachers in life. We never shared points of view, yet I have communicated with him ever since this summer. Do you understand ? I don’t think so.
Another history and another pair of eyes is from ‘Once Upon a Time in America’. Few movies encapsulates the tragedy and storytelling of life better than this one, and few music scores have lived in my consciousness as the brilliant notes from Ennio Moricone. Few set of eyes have been cooler than those of Charles Bronson, at the peak of his career and the great part as ‘Harmonica’. Fewer times have we delighted in the fulfilled revenge that he gets.
Eyes that see through everything. A mind that knows of things to come, of love and lies and tragedy. Of despair, of survival and of new love to come. Of death to come in the end. Mozart puts it elegantly “death is the real aim of our life, I have for the past few years made myself acquainted with this true, best friend of mankind, so that the vision not only has no terror for me but much that is quieting and comforting.”
Don’t get me wrong: I love to live ! But I think that you need to analyze, understand and use your life based on this fact: life is now ! Don’t try to live forever – you will not succeed. We are obliged to burn every day, to love and to be happy. Forget about the material things if your soul is in trouble. Forget about the soul if you are dying of starvation or war or illness. Forget about the off-centric timescales to the only true thing, you possess: the moment of now ! Thus, forget about the past and do not worry about the future – neither belong to you (now).
Do you understand ? I don’t think so.
Do you see anything at all ?
This passed weekend I made my collection of the Five World Major Marathons complete. So, it took about two and a half year to grab’em all.. not bad, I think. The story goes as follows:
Berlin 2004, 2006
London 2005
New York 2006
Boston 2007
Chicago 2007
The next goal must be to collect some of the ‘adventure’ marathons, e.g. the Chinese Wall, Taj Mahal etc. We”ll see.
Yesterday, I completed the perhaps most extreme marathon race I have participated in so far. Unusual high temperatures and a very high humidity made the Chicago marathon appear like a Badwater experience.
Actually, it became so hot that the race was officially cancelled and we were forced to walk to the finish line. Fortunately, we did get an official time and a medal… it would have been hard to accept if the expensive and long trip to Chicago from Denmark would have been all lost.
However, that would still have been minor compared to the tragedy that the family of a young father to three children now suffers since this young man died in the race yesterday. My deepest condolences to them.
You can enjoy my pictures and video from the race and the route here.
Firstly me: running my 54th marathon, and even in the looks of Spiderman..take a look here.
Federer: Winning his 12th Grand Slam Title, at US Open in New York. Just brilliant !
Woods: Winning his 60th PGA Tour victory, as by far the youngest ever (Niclaus was 36 years, Woods is 31).