Run On For A Long Time

Run On For A Long Time
By Alexis Mercer

I didn’t think I was much of a Johnny Cash fan. Until one of the runners I follow on Instagram posted a video with the song God’s Gonna Cut You Down as the background music while she ran on, and on, and on….

She only posted the part of the song that went “run on for a long time, run on for a long time…” and I thought it was perfect to add to my playlist for long runs. So I did. And wow do I love that song. It has a great beat, soul, and the lyrics are fantastic.

The only problem is that when the line that was posted on Instagram was used, it was definitely taken out of context, since the next line says “sooner of later God’ll cut you down.”

Which is kind of a buzzkill when you’re jammin’ and running and thinking you’re listening to the perfect song about running on for a long time and to keep on keepin’ on.

I decided it was worth keeping on my playlist, though. It really is a great song. And the best part is that it has given me a lot to consider on my long runs. Because I have a new goal.

26.2 miles.

I’m rather superstitious. I wasn’t going to put it out there in the universe for fear that if I did, something would go wrong and I wouldn’t be able to complete the marathon due to injury, or illness or being unable to fit the massive amount of training required into my already busy schedule. And then I would be disappointing myself and everyone who knew I was going to try to run a marathon.

But the thing about my super scary goal is that I would love to write about it as I go because I think there are many runners out there who only post the good and great moments in their running lives. Those who post selfies after races where they got a PR (personal record) or a photo of their route on a really long run (don’t get me wrong...I do this, too...and I love seeing all of those selfies, so keep ‘em coming).

I want to post the good and the bad and everything in between; because that is what training is all about. We all have bad days where we don’t think we will make it up the hill; we all have times when we feel like we’ve been cut down.

My hope is that putting my goal of a marathon out in the universe for everyone to see, and then writing about my training this summer, will help encourage others who may have a goal that seems crazy or scary to go after it.

Today I worked through my disappointment in Johnny’s lyrics on my 8 mile run. I plan on running on for a long time this summer. I’m sure that I will get cut down now and again. I have long since learned that to run means it is about the journey and all its ups and downs even more than the finish line.

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