Run With Intent

Buckminster Fuller once said, “The minute you choose to do what you
really want to do, it’s a different kind of life.” And it’s not about
what you‘re getting paid to do! If you want to live abundantly, decide
what you really want and figure out a way to do it. Be clear and live
with intent.  

You may have heard of Fred Lebow. Fred complained to his doctor that he
lacked energy. His doctor advised him to take up running in order to
increase his stamina. He fell in love with it! He was 39- years-old when
he entered his first race, and did horribly. He beat only one other
contestant: a 72-year-old man. But he loved it!  

Fred decided what he really wanted to do, and he did it in his spare
time. He joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York
City’s first marathon race. But what Fred truly wanted to do, even more
than run, was to bring people together. And that is what he did. He
believed that anybody should be able to run. People of all ages, any
background, professional or amateur, and of any country. Today, more
than 28,000 people of all backgrounds and nationalities compete in the
NYC Marathon.  

Not everyone in New York was excited about people running through their
neighborhoods. Fred was approached by a youth gang that warned him that
nobody had better run through their turf. “That’s great,” Fred enthused.
“I need someone to protect the runners in your area, and you look like
just the fellows to do it.” He gave them each a hat, shirt and jacket
and that year, when the marathon went through their neighborhood, these
young men proudly guarded the runners along their way.  

Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do
it. He lived with intent. That single decision made his life remarkably
different.  

In 1990, Fred Lebow found he had a brain tumor. In 1992, he ran his
final race. He crossed the finish line holding the hand of his friend
and Norwegian Olympic medalist, Grete Waitz. A bronze statue was created
of Fred in his running clothes, checking his watch. It is now placed at
the finish line of every race. Fred died in 1994, but as one sports
writer said, “Fate handed him a short race. With his gall, with his love
of life, Fred Lebow turned it into a marathon.”  

Fred would say that it’s not about how long you live, but how you run
the race of life. Do you run it with intent? —Steve Goodier