Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Determination

I haven't really said much about it, but I've had some ongoing knee discomfort on both of my knee caps for a couple of months now. It's not overly painful, just annoying. I've finally had enough, and after some research I've self-diagnosed myself as having a classic case of "runner's knee(s)". Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be that big of a deal. Probably along the severity of shin splints, based on what I've read. So, aggressive icing, ibuprofen, and cutting back on the running for the next two weeks are in order. That and some new running shoes. No real worries though.

On another note, I've come across a couple of running stories/videos that really underscore determination and unselfishness. The first is a high school girl who breaks her leg at a meet several dozen feet before the finish line. That doesn't stop her though, as she scrambles on her hands and knees to the finish. Awesome. Now that is grit and determination. It happens 1:40 into the below video (or -5:35 by the counter). You can also read the story and see an edited down version of the video here. Definitely a must see (and read).



I also came across the below video while doing some research on the Comrades Ultramarathon in South America. It's the largest ultra in the world, with 12,000 competitors from around the globe running a distance of 56 miles. The race is notorious for it's strict enforcement of the 12-hour cutoff and the below video shoes the final few minutes of the race last year. :48 into it (or -4:25), you'll see a group of runners unselfishly carrying another runner across the finish line. I can only imagine these folks put their own finishes at risk to help a fellow runner who they probably didn't even know. Truly incredible, and defines the spirit of ultramarathoning. It's followed by a couple of other instances where runners appear to be helping each other out, and then the obvious dejection by those who didn't make the cut-off. Simply amazing to watch.

POST EDIT: Yikes. After further research, I learned that the man that was being carried died. I assume that the article is about him. Very sad. I assumed it was just a guy who had bonked pretty badly.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yikes on the knee. Sounds like you are on the right track to get this under control.

Nice videos. I am currently following Hal Higdon's Comrades training program just for giggles as opposed to actually training for that race.

Love2Run said...

Comrades is my ultimate dream race someday. That girl is painful to watch. Hope your knee comes around soon.

mindy said...

Is the knee pain on the outside of the knee? You might try rolling your ITB with a foam roller if you're not already. Would love to try and run with you guys sometime at Bradbury.

Michael Jay Dotson said...

Watching that girl in the video made me a little queasy. I admire her determination but at some point you have to consider if you're doing some permanent damage. That said, I imagine that in her adrenaline induced state so didn’t realize the seriousness of her injury.

Comrades would be awesome to experience. Maybe one day.

Thomas said...

If I ever cross the line crawling like that I know I've gone too far.

Comrades is on my to-do list, in 3 or 4 years' time.

Kim said...

Wow! I had read about Claire M. finishing the race, but that was the first time I saw the video.

RunSueRun said...

The video of the HS girl... (O_O) Yikes. Hope your knees get better soon! Happy Thanksgiving.

MB said...

good luck with the knee pain and easy does it

ouch on the HS video I saw it on ESPN, the linked YouTubes come up unavailable.

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Jamie said:It's not overly painful, just annoying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yupper I have that on my arch but the GOOD news is the back of knee pain went away... I think ur right that long JFK run, ran it away THANKFULLY :-)

AMAZING Video of that Cross Country Girl, SOOOO Friggin tough she was and validates how strong women runners are mentally...they DON't Quit, u see that a lot on the Ultra Community.