We can all be winners
16 April 2020

We can all be winners

Only one runner can cross the finish line as number one, but we all can be winners.

The ones that follows their dreams, finishing what they started, and who never ever gives up. They are all winners…

Blog by Rok Bratina, Skyrunner from Slovenia

Imagine that you are located in a boxing ring, lying on the ground, as you were just being strongly hit by a young unknown boxer, who is just on the beginning of his career.

It was a clear knock down. Surrounded by thousands of hot – tempered fans in the sport hall, you only hear the voice of the referee who is counting to ten. Suddenly he is at number seven. The time goes by. Just for a second you look at the man who almost destroy you. He catches your eyes and laugh at you. He thinks that he already won the fight and he will soon be crowned as the new champion.

Meanwhile, the referee is at number nine. The pressure is growing. There is an inner fight in your head too. One part of it wants to remain lying, stuck flat on the back for another second until the referee finally says it’s over and you give up. The other part is different. It is shouting at you to stand up once more and try it again. The first option is easier, and your body will be grateful for that. At first you really don’t care about the fact that you will be soon without a title. Maybe, you are already waiting for a hot shower afterwards and a big portion of food.

Nevertheless, it will come next morning and the time when you will go in your bathroom to wash your face. At the same time, you will look at you in the mirror and who will you see? One big looser, who gave up and confess defeat. With a great effort you will appear out of the house, because you know how people will treat you. It will also be hard for you to return back to training. You will be frustrated and ashamed.

But staying at home should not be the right solution, as well as avoiding training sessions. There must be another way. You guess it right, it is the second option that is much more difficult, however you only have to lift yourself up on your feet and give that guy some powerful blows just for the sake of it. Even if your opponent win by points at the end, you will not recognize yourself as a loser. What is more, you will be greeted with a loud applause from the public. In that moment you can’t blame on yourself anymore. Not in that situation.

When you will get up from your bed next morning, you will be proud of yourself, as motivation will grow, you will train for the next battle even harder. Once in the future, it will come the day of the revanche. and you will be ready. 

It is the matter of a second. There is a thin line between a loser and a winner. A loser is someone, who break it up before the end. Even if it is only a second. He breaks it. But the winner is someone, who finish it up, no matter the result in the end.  Maybe he is suffering from all the pain he feel, maybe he just realize he will never get that fight, but he is fair enough to himself, to all his fans who just come in the sports hall to support him, to his family, who stands by him in ups and downs and he really doesn’t want to disappoint them. With fighting until the end and giving his best, he will never do that. That’s a fact. 

In trail running races there can be only one runner, who cross the line first. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean other runners who finished the race behind are losers. They are winners too, as they all ran the same course, some faster than others, but that doesn’t matter at the end. That is not a point of the competition. Being fast is just one parameter, more important is crossing the finish line with a smile and in a good mood. Runners who gave up just somewhere in the middle of the race, or nearly at the end, can never be crowned as winners. They don’t really deserve that title, like our boxer, that remains lying on the ground, hit and frustrated. 

What I want to tell you with this comparison is, that we all can be winners, if only we do our best and fulfil our running potential. Furthermore, we have to finish what we started, no matter the time we will need for the race we participated. Last but not least. Do not listen to your inner voice once you are in your pace. Don’t follow your legs that already hurts and warns you to slow down or even worse, to stop.

Always follow your heart and imagine how happy you will be, once you accomplish the giving goal. Once you do it like that, you will see yourself as a winner, because one part of you will beat the other. It’s always like that. We are our own worst enemy, but also our best friend. If enemy leads us to defeat, our friend takes us to the top of the world. 

/Rok Bratina, Skyrunner from Slovenia

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