Three questions. It’s a simple concept but one that can elicit a whole lot of information in a short, succinct way (or a War and Peace sort of way). Three questions, when they are the right questions, can tell you almost everything you want to know about a subject, from the whys to the wherewithal. I like ‘wherewithal’… Whomever came up with the word, kudos to you.
So what are the right three questions to ask a runner? Recently, the Middletown Athletic Club started a newsletter segment entitled “Three Questions”, in an attempt to get to know one another a little bit better.
The three questions asked of each subject often opens a whole world of follow-up questions that, hopefully, will give you or me or anybody talking points for the next time you get a chance to run with one of the subjects. OR it can lead to you asking a fellow runner who you may not know very well these same three queries.
For the MAC newsletter, the three questions asked of each subject are 1. When/why did you start running? 2. What is your favorite running event/memory? 3. What piece of advice would you share with a fellow runner?
Running is by nature a solitary pursuit. Allan Sillitoe’s ‘The Loneliness of the long distance runner’ is a must-read (as is ‘Once a Runner’ by John Parker, but for different reasons). Sillitoe’s work illustrates what many feel like when out on their own, in the elements of heat, cold, rain, wind, etc…
But add a partner, any partner, to your daily 5 and see how the miles fly by! In my years of running, I can count on two hands the number of people with whom I regularly enjoy running. Sorry to those who didn’t make the list. I still like you, and probably occasionally enjoy plodding miles with you, but I’m a follower of Sillitoe. To me, there’s nothing lonely about it.
Back to the three questions… it’s often nice to run with someone new, and I challenge you (and myself) to start doing that more frequently. The superficial nature of the questions can oftentimes bring about deeper conversation and connections among people who otherwise wouldn’t connect. Think about it… other than work, church and the local watering hole, where do we connect with people? 25-30 years ago, people connected through work, church and bars. Today, people connect cyberly. I’m not sure about you, but cyberly kinda sucks these days.
My three question answers? Well, I never thought you’d ask.
- I started running in high school, as a sophomore looking for a place to fit in. My friend Mike dragged me to the first day of cross country practice (Monday, August 15, 1978) and I’ve been a runner ever since.
- My favorite memory would be running the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon in 2015. I was invited to join a team of 50-somethings for the 200 mile team relay from the 11,000 foot-high Mount Hood to the Pacific Ocean. We placed 26th out of 1,100 teams. My favorite race would be the 1987 Boston Marathon (my first Boston).
- My one piece of advice would be to make connections with other runners. We are a friendly group as a whole, and although I prefer to do most of my running alone, I prefer to hang out with runners. They are inclusive, empathetic and real.
I hope you have the wherewithal and the mindset to make those connections. They can be life-altering and loneliness-killing.
I hope to see you on the roads, tracks and trails.
