Day 22 - The Vertical Runner

Vince Rucci and Steve Hawthorne created Vertical Runner.  Today's story focuses on Vince but Steve Hawthorne is pretty special too.  I have no inside knowledge of their business model so this is how I see them which in a word is "wonderful."

It's always better to be a vertical runner than a horizontal one.  If your body is east and west as opposed to north and south in a marathon, chances are you are on a cot in a medical aid station.  I love the name of my friend Vince's successful running stores, "Vertical Runner."  I sometimes am guilty of walking into the store even if I am not buying anything.  The atmosphere is one of pure running in all its forms. The store surroundings are a visual and spiritual reminder of the sport we love and why we do it.  It can be the ibuprofen to what ails me in the short term in my running attitude.  I had a lethargic run this morning for three miles.  I woke up too early and it just wasn't there.  Not only that, when I got back I realized that today's offering was supposed to be four miles not just three. I knew today's attitude adjustment could be found by stopping and visiting Vince in his element.

Vince is a marketing genius in my view, and a quiet motivator in addition to being an outstanding runner.  Vince is smart in that he employs people who love the sport of running and are knowledgeable about their craft. Tammy Polen, who runs the Wooster Vertical Runner Store franchise, is just one example.  The culture of each store is that every runner matters.  Vince has seen acts like mine before.  Perhaps too often but he would never let on.  There's always an encouraging word of support no matter who you are.  Vince likes to build people up. One of the accomplishments of Vince and the team at Vertical Runner is the establishment of races that support numerous community causes.  "The Frosty Five" on Christmas Eve Day is one such race.  I find myself each year on Christmas Eve day morning in the role of  DJ with loud rocking seasonal music near the two and three mile marks. I like to entertain the runners, get them in the Christmas and holiday spirit, and make them smile.  Why? It's the buzz of seeing people happy at holiday time.  It's a way I can pay Vince back for a moment like today that just made me forget about the disappointing running experience this morning.  In fact, I'm raring to go on my 8 miler tomorrow afternoon.

During this marathon training process I am learning that I am not mentally going through anything different than what all other runners experience. Dealing with the psychological aspects of running and unlocking the positive forces around you are critical to anyone's successful training program.  

In an anonymous comment today on my Blog, it stated that I hold a cheeseburger in one hand and the Columbus Marathon in another hand.  That is expert analysis and spot on for now.  I am not a special runner.  I remain just a guy who's struggling with the same issues that so many others do who are trying to find their way back.  Right now is perhaps the most dangerous time of the program.  I have made significant progress but not enough.  I can just as easily lose what I have gained by letting up. With very few exceptions, nobody really does well in a marathon on just five weeks of training.  There's thirteen more weeks to go for me.

Seeing Vince today reminds me that I have to put not only this morning behind me and every other day of the schedule whether good or bad that's in the past.  If I nail tomorrow's run, it will be a major victory on the way back.  I will need to be focused, positive, and dedicated to my dream.  It's how Vince and his team built the Vertical Runner brand.  It's time for me to put down the cheeseburger and focus completely on the mission. 

I ended up in a horizontal position in a marathon in 1980.  I literally was lying east and west in a medical tent and would have much rather been a vertical runner. Getting off that cot and riding "the meat wagon" to the finish line was the worst running experience I ever had. The vertical runner crossing the finish line is always preferable. Always!