The Ideal Sport

What is a sport? Is it anything in which you compete? Is it anything that is physical?  Is it anything that takes skill? Regardless of what you believe is a sport, running is by far the most superior.  When it comes down to a battle of fitness running is the ideal.  It takes 100 calories on average to run a mile but the speed can drastically change.  It is very difficult to run a 5k or two mile where as you can "play basketball" but just sit on the bench all game.  It takes skill to race correctly, not many people are good at it.  Your coach is able to teach you the skills you need to do well.  The great thing about running is that there is something for anybody.  People can run short distance or long distance and regardless of what they decide the can greatly improve their health and well being.  Running allows people to become mentally and physically stronger.

Running especially distance tests you physically and mentally in extreme ways.  Physically you are moving more than you ever have, faster than you ever could have imagined.  If you put forth enough work you can attain any goal.  Over the past 15 months I have improved by three and a half minutes in the 5k.  I went from 19:19 to 16:01 on a harder course during a slow race and expect to drop another 30 seconds off my time Saturday.  I simply worked every day to improve my skills and made huge strides over time.  Anything is possible if you set your mind to it especially in this sport.

Many sports involve a lot of sitting around on the bench or no real physical activity. That is not the case with running.  Running is probably the most physically demanding sport.  It is one of few sports where ambulances must be at the large meets due to likelihood of dehydration or overexertion.  In fact many other "sports" are not sports at all.  Golf for one takes skill but does not exactly require physical activity with golf carts and caddying carrying clubs for you.  Dance is not exactly a sport either it is more of an art.  Sure it takes skill (I can't dance by any means) but it is not the most physical of sports nor is it exactly a sport in which there is a huge amount of competition.  Other classic sports such as football or basketball do require respect and are fun to watch but neither are as physically demanding as running.  There are very few stress fractures or shin injuries or pulled muscles compared to running.

If you don't believe me when I say that running is the ideal sport then give it a try.  Go out and run a mile in under 6 minutes and then realize if you even were able to complete that, the world record is still 2 minutes faster or 30 seconds per lap, Ryan Hall ran the marathon in 2:04 with is 4:46 per mile.  Running takes a toll mentally and physically making it the most valuable sport that allows you to grow as a person in all aspects.

I highly recommend
you give it a try.  Here is some more proof and inspiration:

~Dan