Distance Learning

RUNNING HAS MANY BENEFITS, BUT MY FAVOURITE IS TRIVIAL.

- Mark Remy

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE BEST guide dogs aren’t used as guide dogs? They’re reserved for an even more important job – breeding more guide dogs. That’s a little something I learned months ago, during a run with a blind friend (and her own guide dog, Jenny).

It was an airy, inconsequential bit of information – trivial, really. It had no direct bearing on me or my life. Certainly not on my running. But I loved learning it. By the time the three of us ended our run, not only had we logged 8km, I was a bit more enlightened than when we’d started. I loved that, too.

I find that this happens fairly often when running with others – conversation ebbs and flows over the kilometres, and every now and then a bit of knowledge bubbles up. Run with enough people over enough time, and before you know it you’ve learned a little about a lot. And usually without really meaning to.

This happens frequently during group runs, which I suppose isn’t surprising. A good group run, with the right mix of people, can feel like a roving cocktail party, but with sports drink instead of cocktails and snot rockets instead of hors d’oeuvres. Group runs lend naturally to good conversation – when it comes to social lubricants, in my opinion, endorphins and vulnerability (read: short shorts) beat liquor any day of the week.