The Raven: 100,000 Miles and Counting

The NBA isn’t the only place where amazing happens. Just ask Miami Beach's Robert "the Raven” Craft, about his lifelong journey that started on January 1st 1975. A lifelong journey that has taken him through the Watergate scandal, 7 presidencies, 5 Hurricane football national championships, the rise and fall of Vanilla Ice, and most importantly, the birth of each of the 5 brown guys.

So who is this "Raven" character and what about his lifelong journey has this brown guy in such awe?

What if I told you that in the span of 35 years, this man has run the circumference of the Earth (24,901.55 miles) four times? What if I told you that for the last 35 years or so, this man has run 8 miles every single day through physical ailments, pneumonia, inclement weather, and the distraction of beautiful women on Miami Beach? What if I told you that this man’s HDL (good cholesterol) is so high that it’s probably unmeasurable? (That last one was for all you super-nerds out there).

Let us take a collective moment of silence to awe at this ridiculous feat.
[Pause]

A plethora (yes I used a thesaurus) of words came to my mind after hearing this story: insane, psycho, loser, ridiculous, why, seriously, no way, get the hell out of here, and daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaymnnnnnnnn. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the words discipline, determination, and motivation better represented Raven’s feat and attitude on life—an attitude that more of us should have.

So whether it be the residency that you will soon be starting, the triathlon that you will be partaking in, the love of your life that you just can’t seem to find, the interviews that you will soon be going on, or the fear of starting 3rd year medical school, just keep in mind those three words—discipline, determination, and motivation. And remember that the Raven’s journey to 100,000 miles began with a single step.

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 Maybe a CEO of a recent bail-out company trying to skip town before his multi-million dollar bonus was revoked.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.