Enduring a Wall Street Run

This brown guy participated in the American Heart Association's Wall Street 5K 3-mile (distance changed due to construction) run today. In this economy, there's something symbolic about thousands of people running through the streets of the financial district. I think I noticed a couple of guys in suits join the crowd (see photo). Maybe it was an investment banker trying to run away after a deal fell through. Maybe a CEO of a recent bail-out company trying to skip town before his multi-million dollar bonus was revoked. But I digress; this is not a business/economics blog.

Endurance sports are not something the general population considers a sport until the Olympics roll around. Perhaps the idea of intentionally subjecting oneself to grueling physical activity without the prospect of scoring points or necessarily winning anything is strange to us. We're so used to thinking of sports in terms of win-loss records and "the team."

For those who participate in endurance sports, it's all about personal accomplishment. Whether it's running, biking, or swimming, success is about pushing yourself to the limit to achieve your goals without regard to the guy next to you. Sure, it'd be nice to win the race, but getting to the finish line or beating your previous time is usually enough. When you're on the road and in the zone, you have nothing to prove to anyone except yourself.

At least that's been my experience.