Running takes work

Posted by Jake Rosen on March 29th, 2010

When I was 13-years-old, I went to a book fair and picked up an old copy of Ben Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” I didn’t really have a reason for choosing that book over another, other than my love for all things Ben Franklin. I didn’t realize when buying the book that it would be filled with some of the most inspirational short statements I would ever read in my life. One quote in particular shined above all others and stuck with me,

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

Those seven words were so inspirational to me because it grounded me in the fact that a person cannot rely on luck to give them positive outcome or good lot in life. The most reliable method to getting what you what you want is hard work, and that effort will eventually breed a fortuitous bounce your way.

My introduction to “Poor Richard’s Almanac” and this quote in particular couldn’t have come at a better time. It was only one year later that I was diagnosed with a heart problem. I imagine for many 14-year-old kids that would be difficult for me to hear, but for me it wasn’t. I had a great family and network of friends, and I held strong to the idea that my own diligence would lead me to prevail in whatever I undertook.

I think about Franklin’s astonishingly intelligence words every time I go for a run. It reminds me of the work I’ve had to put in already and the work that I need to continue to put in to achieve my own goals for running. It clarifies in my mind that I will never run a race faster or better than I have in training, so I have to train with vigor and force every time.