Daily run, part one

Every day you go on a long run through the forest. You picture a pot of gold at the end. It helps you finish when you feel like quitting. One day you pretend there’s a tiger right behind you. It makes you much faster, so you keep using this approach. A running expert suggests you try acting like you’re running on hot coals, to keep you on the front of your feet. You try it, and it improves your stamina and energy. Sometimes, to shake things up, you try running barefoot, or with your eyes closed, or with your arms out like an airplane. Every time you hear or think of a new way to run, you try it to see how it works and how you feel. The variety is fun. Eventually you realize you could make this path better for others, so you bring a shovel to smooth out bumps and fill in holes. You imagine future runners being thankful for whoever did this. One day, when filled with money frustrations at home, you run while picturing that pot of gold again, and are surprised to find it now makes you run faster than ever. A new book declares that the single best way to run, after hundreds of scientific experiments by the experts, is, in fact, to act as if a tiger is behind you. Millions of readers (they call themselves “tigerists”) are happy that tigerism has the answer. So, can we say that one of these ways to run is true? Please read part two now. photo © Josephine Stenudd