Running Does Not Upspeak

The Internet is a bit like Jack Horner's Christamas pie, you stick in a thumb and pull out a random morsel. In this case it is a poem by Taylor Mali about upspeak that you can listen to here .

Now it is the job of this blog to relate things to running, either directly or as an exercise in convoluted reasoning. I have quite a lot of scope with this game because one of my core assumptions is that running keeps you honest. You cannot fudge how fast, far or how easily you can move and so you have to come to terms with your own abilities and look objectively at both what you can do and what you do do. In one small area of your life you can say this is what I am and this is what I know.

Running can therefore be a yardstick to be placed against other things that are messier and more confusing. In that way you can relate it to almost anything.

So can I relate it to a poem about a style of speech? Well it is possible because it ends with this plea:

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

Well what else is running but an expression of your convictions, determination and your own authority?

Running is a straightforward activity: a deal you make with yourself that the more you put in the more you get out. It is not a matter of subtle argument or intellectual complexity. You do something and you can measure and describe the results. It is declarative and therefore relates quite well to the theme of the poem.