What Fuels the Whole Runner?

While taking mathematics courses at De Paul University, I came upon a topic which just blew me away. A portion of a computer programming class included the topic of fractals. One of the exercises was to generate interesting geometric designs by continued iteration of the same core design. No matter how much you zoomed in or zoomed out the basic designed was there. I found this notion so intriguing. It is the same mathematical model which describes coastline formations, cloud formations and so forth. For me it also describes a peculiar genetic trait that I carry.

I use this same concept to describe my view of family, past and present. It all dawned on me while interacting with my grandsons. Watching them as they interacted with each other, their mom, their grandmother, and their cousins allowed me to see some eerily similar patterns which I had observed previously in my personal experiences. Subconsciously they were going through the maze known as life using tools garnered from their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents and so on.

How does this relate to the Whole Runner? Upon closer inspection, I now know what initially fueled my desire to run. My oldest brother was a naturally fast runner. I remember back when I was in third grade, holding his books, so that he could participate in a half mile race around a sugar cane farm. The four or five runners would disappear in a cloud of dust behind the tall sugar cane stalks as other kids wagered on the result of the race. It was always he coming out of the cane fields first and I would proudly go meet him to hand him his books. I never had a chance to participate in those races because I was too small and mainly because I was too slow. I wanted so much to be fast like him but to no avail.

In high school he was captain of the track team and his athletic school sweater was ridiculously plastered with all sorts of medals won at the city championships. I wanted to be like him. I worked hard and finally in my senior year I managed to earn a couple of medals at the city championship. I have never stopped running and no matter how much I run I can only dream of being as fast as my brother. That desire is what has fueled this whole runner.

The desire to be fast like my brother gave me the initial impetus to integrate running into my way of life. That initial motivation is no longer the reason why I continue to run. I am infinitely grateful to my brother for indirectly giving me such a gift. Today I run because it sets me free and everything seems to flow so much better after a good brisk run.

Let’s get back to the fractal idea. That desire to be fast and earn rewards has fueled my running and I have noticed that my daughters also have inherited some of that same behavior. I see in them a constant quest to achieve in their athletic encounters. As swimmers and runners they have collected their share of medals and trophies. It all began after my eldest won her first trophy for swimming. I recognized the look on my youngest daughter’s eyes. I am not entirely sure if she articulated her idea or if I just read it from her expression but I know that she too wanted to be as fast as her sister. So here I see how the iteration of the pattern continues.  Needless to say, when my youngest grandson saw his big brother’s baseball trophy, he couldn’t wait for the baseball season to start.