POEM
Our good friend Renita has written a poem for me in
recognition of running the whw way race.
The poem was initially called Ninety Three Reasons and was inspired by the fact that my
race number is 93.
There were a few comments from fellow runners that there should be 95 reasons -
one for each mile so Renita
added two more. (Changes in yellow)
So here is the poem .....
NINETY-FIVE REASONS
By Renita Boyle
To exceed our limit
To pick up pace
To lose ourselves
To win the race
Blood pump – pumping through our veins
Warm sun
Hot sweat
Refreshing rain
To tone the body
Hone the mind
Get ahead
And leave behind
To never be an also ran
Ultra runner
Ultra man
To exhale angst
To inhale air
To ponder love
To live in prayer
The peace
The pride
The surge of power
To split the seconds
And reap the hours
To pound the ground
To beat the clock
Go the distance
Stop take stock
Who wins dares
Who dares wins
To pay the price
To purge our sins
To prove a point
To point the way
To live to run another day
To inspire
Invest
Improve
Impress
To better our worst
To be our best
To join the club
To be alone
The cloud of witnesses cheering us home
To keep the faith
To win the prize
To look at heaven in the eyes
No pain, no gain
No guts, no glory
To be the hero in our own story
To know where sacrifice begins
Believe
Achieve
Just do it again
To keep our cool
To feel the burn
Fall down
Get up
Go on
And learn
To maintain our focus
To hope and cling
To find a different way to sing
Total commitment
Test of will
Enjoyment
Excitement
The thirst
The thrill
To smell success
Taste victory
Analyse our strategy
To champion a cause
To strive and survive
An ancient urge
A primal drive
To face our fears
Be tough enough
For reasons we know nothing of
To answer questions
and ask some more
To honour those who’ve gone before
We run to become
Step into our stride
Measure ourselves by what’s inside
To enlarge our vision of what can be
To see both the woods and the trees
Rustling leaves
Ripple of wind
The whisper of God upon our skin
To press on to the goal
To never look back
To meet the challenge of what we lack
To chase the moon
To catch the sun
Ninety-five reasons why we run