Running into the nothingness of time
By: Harsh Maskara
Tags: Time, Nothing, Performance, Metrics, Running

Onlookers often wonder what goes on in a runner’s mind. It seems bizarre to some that a person should choose to exert energies without having a particular goal in sight. All other recreational sports feature a ball where one’s focus can be concentrated. Yes, runners usually have a time benchmark but this is still not tangible. Hence, it is common to see runners listening to music while on the move. This helps to provide stimulus to the mind which is eager to focus on something.

True runners however learn that music serves more as a distraction and detracts from the satisfaction of running. They rapidly realize that there is a different joy associated with tuning into the wind, birds and the environment while running. However, one can only understand this experience by having a sense of control over running. Too many runners overexert themselves in the quest for better timing and as a result get overcome by injuries.

A lot of people find running to be boring. This simple repetitive activity of swinging arms, leaping and moving feet is not for everybody. After a point in time, the lure of time also loses its sheen. You begin to wonder what it is that you are really chasing. The irony is that running awakens the child in us. This child does not need distractions or goals. Children live in the moment and this is what running teaches us.

After a point in time you realize that chasing time is like being on a merry-go-round. At first, it is exciting and thrilling but you soon realize that you are seeing the same sights over and over again. Getting off a merry-go-round while it is in motion can grievously injure you. Similarly, you have to allow the bogey of time to fade away before deciding how you want to go about running.

As a runner, time takes on a new avatar. Hours and minutes are brandished like prizes to fellow runners and the public at large. Shaving off a few minutes to record a Personal Best (PB) is seen as a massive achievement and celebrated with joy. However, runners rarely stop to consider the impact these activities have on their bodies. Running injuries are considered par for the course and little thought is given to running technique.

After a point in time, it is best to redefine your relationship with time. Running needs to be seen as a qualitative activity rather than a quantitative one. Runners need to ask themselves how they felt after a run than what time they finished the run in. Unfortunately, we live in a world driven by metrics and it is difficult to retain a qualitative sensibility about the world.

The simple act of running distance has been broken down into numerous metrics. PBs, negative splits and time per km are all metrics that runners share with the wider world. It seems a bit ironic that an activity as child-like as running should be bifurcated in this manner. However, we live in a performance driven world and adults are always curious to know how they have fared and what their standing is in society.

However, time has a strange way of disciplining you. After you point in time you will realize that the more you track it, the looser your grasp of it becomes. It slips through fingers like grains of sand and draws you into itself like quicksand. The harder you focus on it, the tougher it seems to master it. However, time has an irresistible glamour to itself which is impossible to ignore.

The best thing to do while running is to ignore time. This may make the activity seem purposeless but this approach allows your body to simply be. You can run at your own pace without putting undue pressure on your body. This will help you to be injury free and make the most of your run. However, it would require you to be comfortable with not sharing statistics with your fellow runners and the community at large.

There is no doubt that running without tracking time can be daunting. You might wonder as to what is the purpose behind the activity. The goal is to be comfortable with doing nothing and allowing your mind to wander. This way you might develop a deeper understanding of yourself and get a sense of what really drives you.

Running is a lot like money. It is the means to an end. It is dangerous to consider it to be the end in itself. If you do so then you are constantly trying to justify to people as to what your skill level is and you end up drawing comparisons with other people. This makes life unnecessarily complicated. If you do run, then it is best to maintain a sense of mystery around your skill level so that people don’t categorize you.

However, it is difficult to ignore time. Our lives are in a sense dictated by time. Finish your education in your twenties, start a family in your thirties and retire at sixty. Along with that we have office hours, meeting timings and breaks from work. In the midst of all this, it is difficult to take out time to run and even more difficult to ignore time while running.

Watches, cell phones and wall clocks mean that we are constantly conscious of time. We have broken the day into a neat package of twenty four hours consisting of sixty minutes each. In a sense, we have broken down a qualitative metric such as time into hard quantitative metrics. This helps us make sense of the world. However, time is an experience and not a product which can be purchased. It is a feeling which changes from day to day. As we get older, our minds turn over new chapters in the book of life and our nature gets a new and fresh flavor.

As a runner, you can only revel in the experience of time by maintaining a sense of ignorance about it. This is when you will experience the true power of running and the ways in which it can transform your life. It is good to compete in races and get a sense of where you stand. However, on a daily basis it is best to run without a clock in mind. Your run will not be the same again and neither will you.