Courage

"The miracle isn't that I finished... the miracle is that I had the courage to start." - John Bingham

What is an Athlete?

... but being an athlete is not about miles run or even about setting PR's. Being an athlete is about how you encounter the world. Athletes encounter the world with their bodies- with their feet, hands, lungs, and heart. When non-athletes feel their hearts pounding, or their lungs gasping for air, they think something is wrong. They feel as though they have stepped out of their world. Yet those sensations are defined by us, caused by us, and ultimately, embraced by us. They are not outside us, they are, by definition, inside of us.

Those sensations are present at any pace, distance, or age....The person with the 35min 10k PR is only a faster runner than the person with a 55min 10k PR. No more. No less...

Injuries often stop runners from the physical act of running, but that doesn't mean they stop being athletes. the joy they feel in activity will still be there. The penguin athlete? Absolutely. It is a state of mind, a state of being. It is not a matter of comparing, it is a matter of accepting. And that, for many of us, may be the greatest challenge.

Waddle on, Friends.
John Bingham

Here is a link to his site, http://www.waddle-on.com/.
This is one of his columns that I saved from HS. He considers himself the penguin athlete.