Dear slow runners

You are not alone. I promise there's more than a million of us. We're newbies, weekend warriors, the couch potato turned athletes. We're slow. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. We still get out there, we still wake up early. Sweat. Suffer. We still try our hardest. Even if our hardest, is a 20 minute mile. Even if our fastest, is someone else's slow. Even if your running is someone else's walking. We all start somewhere. It takes time and effort to work your way up to greatness. It takes rising with the sun, commitment, and pushing yourself into an uncomfortable place, to make yourself better. And sometimes our better is being able to run a kilometer without stopping, or climbing that hill we've been struggling on, or running a pace we originally never thought possible. Accomplishments don't have to be huge for you to be proud.
I always cheer harder for the slow runners. They're the ones who could have said, no not today, I'm going to skip this workout, I'm gonna sit at home and stay in my comfort zone... but didn't.
I am a slow runner. I know how it feels to be pushing, heart rate high, sweat dripping, struggling to breathe, only to look down and see the last km took 8 minutes. I know how it feels to cross that finish line knowing you came in last place. To feel embarassed because you took the longest at a race, and got passed by everyone out there. There have been many dark holes that I have had to mentally pull myself out of, while running. So much self-doubt, disappointment and defeat. Thinking that your best, just isn't good enough. Well guess what - it is, and you are good enough. You might have finished that marathon last, but billions have never ran one at all. You took that risk, you pushed through that pain, and yes it might have been slow, but you did it.
Someone always has to come in last, the beauty is in knowing that you still finish and put in that effort, because guess what.. One day your best is going to get better. Your current fast pace will eventually feel like an easy jog. You last place finish will turn into a top 50% win. And you can feel proud in knowing where you started from, and how far you came. Don't quit just because you run slower than someone else, don't waste your potential. You just have to keep going.

"A river cuts through rock, not because of its strength, but because of its persistence."
Keep running fellow turtles.
The Rural Runner