It's spring marathon buildup time, and, like tens of thousands of others, I'm clocking up the miles, getting the long runs in, and thinking about pacing. Friends and colleagues notice, and soon enough, I'm asked: "So, Jon, who are you running for?"
There's a slight pause. The answer, in my case, is either a) Phoenix AC(my club) or b) no one, or maybe, if I'm honest, c) me. That's to say, I'm not running for a charity, I'm not raising money for a good cause, there's no personal tragic story to tell. I'm training hard, and I'm going for a time (one that starts with a two). And I'm troubled, both by these possible answers, but also by the question itself.
Don't get me wrong: I've run for and raised money for charities in the past, and I applaud those who do. And it's not a matter of compassion fatigue; I'm just putting a bit of space between my running and my wider moral obligations; and fulfilling those obligations in different ways, not through my running.
The worry about the question is that it seems to assume that running itself, and in particular, training for a marathon, is a futile, pointless or self-indulgent exercise. Because it's pointless and self-indulgent, it needs justification. And this, I think, is wrong – and a little unfair. Suppose the conversation at work on a Friday turns to what people are doing at the weekend. Fred says: "Oh I'm playing football for my Sunday league team." Clare says: "Oh, I'm practising the cello for an upcoming concert." Mary says: "Oh, I'm planning to curl up in front of the fire, with a good book." Jon says: "Oh, I'm running in my local half marathon." In the normal course of events, only one of these replies will invite the further question: "Who are you raising money for?" But does running – racing, even – really need any more justification than any of those other activities?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/feb/27/not-running-for-charity
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