Competition is a wonderful way to extend and expand, to experience and to express – more of ourselves than we even knew was there, before…
The end result, always arbitrary – is like a castle built of sand that gets washed away when the waves come in.
Even the medals that we are given as a marker of the event cannot keep the event alive.
It is gone
The moment is gone…
And we miss most of our lives if we live for the goal ahead or on the memories of the victories we won in the past….
I met Ida in Battersea Park
We met literally ‘on the run’
We were locked together one morning in early April around two laps of Battersea Park.
It was during a 5k race that we both had chosen to run…
On that occasion I moved ahead of her in the final lap – I thought that I was going to cross the line ahead of her too…
The race had stretched me out and I ran well, 22.05
But Ida found a strong finish within her, and pipped me at the post, she ran 22.02
And unbeknownst to us a friendly rivalry, a ‘friendship on the run’, had begun…
The tally is now 3:0 to Ida!
‘I run better when you’re here’ she said the last time we met…
And there it is… The spirit of the race bringing more out than before; more than we thought was ‘in there’ – this is the joy of competition at its best
And so on Wednesday night this week, we have a return match
Can we both run under 22 minutes?
Competition with the essence of friendship and playfulness is the best thing ever
Truly having fun – out to play – ‘let’s see how fast we can run round the park…’
Having fun doing it
And – ‘having fun doing it’ is the real goal of the evening…. !
