TIR Trash / Smack or………

I’ll start by saying that I don’t think we’ve done too much trash talking and that our TIR challenge is in the proper spirit.

Here are my thoughts. I don’t like the whole concept of Trash Talking. I think this comes from when I was in High School and our football coach constantly drilling the saying “Still Water Runs Deep” into our heads. Meaning : a person’s calm exterior often conceals great depths of character, just as the deepest streams can have the smoothest surfaces. We were a very intimidating team to play as we jogged slowly & quietly onto the field at the start of our games. We were also a very good team that only lost a handfull of games in the years that I played.

Now here is where I’m going with this. We have our Texas Tough Throwdown challenge at TIR with the Battleing Bloggers of the Texas Republic. While our Texian Road Warrior team will be ready to run very well in March I can’t bring myself to wish anything but the best for the Bloggers. I have posted a few teasing comments here and there for fun and to hopefully motivate. The more I think about it the less I want to post any more of them. I see Karen at WoodlandsFit every week. I only want the best for her. Doing the Midnight Bike Ride ( and the upcoming Adventure Race ) with Jon was and will be fun. Others I’ve met, Cassie, Keith, Holden, Joe, and Barbara are all super people. I know the others are too.

So this brings me back to the term trash talk which is defined partly as “the practice of boasting and insulting one's foes”. I know that most of the “trash talking” in the running community is done in good spirit and not ment to bring anyone down but I do think it’s a fine line that we walk.

I was happy to see that the actual term used on the TIR site is the word smack. Smack is defined as a more respectful way to tease or make a point. It’s not an in-your-face comment and the other person has the opportunity to give a little back. Smack is based in truth. You can tell Andrew on our team something like, “hey, are you sure you’re going the right way?”...because he’s taken a wrong turn in 2 out of 2 trail runs so there is a high probability that it might happen again. Andrew can respond…”it doesn’t matter, my 6 min per mile pace will make up for it if I do.” Or Jon can say…” hey look, Bill actually runs” and I would come back with…. well, I probably wouldn’t come back with anything because I usually don’t think that fast.

My first long Ultra was the Arkansas Traveller 100 mile run in 1994. The most important thing I learned during the event was the importance of keeping a positive attitude and sharing it with the other runners during the event. Rick will appreciate this part. The hardest part of the event for me was from Power Line to Lake Winona, about 70 miles to 85 miles. From midnight until about 4 am was really tough. The ultra community is one of the most supportive groups I’ve ever met. Everyone working toward a common goal, to finish. If you can’t finish there is still a lot of TLC because if you drop at lets say 70 miles it’s still a 70 mile run and that is a long ways on foot. I don’t remember any trash talking during the 28 hours and 30 minutes I was out on the trails that day.

So we have from our area so far…..

Our Texian Road Warriors, the Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic, TWRC team - Athletic Girls Next Door, TWRC team – TBA led by Gary Van Kuiken, Team Woodlands TNT – TBA led by Chris White and the possibility of a couple more.

Our goals should be to run well, have fun, have a good plan, and be supportive of everyone else on the course. A little teasing is fine but I personally would like this inaugural year to be remembered by everyone as a great experience where everyone did their best. Less trash talk, more encouraging words.

I can’t wait until March.