Enlightenment came on kilometer 38 of my spur-of-the-morning full marathon, past the smiling and cigarette-smoking pair of a twenty-something prostitute with a makeup made garish by the harsh late-morning light and her 40ish client waiting for a cab outside a North Reclamation Area motel.
At that point in my unplanned 42-kilometer run last March 2, I fully understood, “Free your mind and your feet will follow.”
I haven’t read Kevin Nelson’s The Runner’s Book of Daily Inspiration, where the quotation comes from, but I kept repeating that phrase on that day, when, after leaving my house in Lapu-Lapu City for a scheduled 21K run on my way to the Sun.Star office, I decided to complete a full marathon.
It was excruciatingly hot and there were instances on the way to Lilo-an when the thought of just turning back and not completing the run occurred to me.
But I kept mumbling my mantra.
MANTRAS, according to Runner’s World, help runners “stay focused and centered.” (CREATIVE COMMONS PHOTO BY PACO FLORES)
