Story behind the running stories. How everything began.

A book, a film, a painting, a poem, a song. They all bring some message; sometimes implicit, sometimes crystal clear. But this "original/intended message" is not always determinant in how you might be impacted by them. A painter cannot precisely determine how a person will feel when standing in front of his painting; neither can a writer, a producer, or a composer do it for their work. Sometimes you can have the same thing producing completely distinct feelings in two different people. And there is where the subjectivity plays a role, and where very peculiar and interesting things can happen. At least that was what happened with me when I saw the film 300 for the first time in 2007.

There was I in the cinema with friends, enjoying a typical Sunday afternoon in São Carlos/Brazil, where I lived by then. I had heard something about Leonidas and his army of 300 courageous Spartans; but I did not really have great expectations about the film. However, right at the beginning something really caught my attention. To become a Spartan soldier, a man had to learn, since his childhood, how to use his body as a weapon. He was tested on his limits, and he had to overcome them to be able to survive all the training Spartans had to go through. To the ones who would make it to the end of the training, a place in the well-trained Spartan army. An army made by men who were not simply soldiers; they were warriors.

When I got out of the cinema I did not want to enlist in the Brazilian army or to subscribe for a fitness program "I wanna a six pack like those guys from 300". Still, I felt I could make a better use of my body and that it was time to put an end to my sedentary lifestyle. Then I did what looked me the most natural thing to be done. I said goodbye to my friends, who were heading to get the bus, and I ran all the way back home. It was not a lot, I must say; 4km I think. It was enough though to get me completely exhausted. Probably I looked completely exhausted as well. In my last 50 meters I passed by a man who looked at me and said: "yes son, I know, it isn't easy!".

I was totally out of shape. I had run sometimes before, when I wanted to lose some weight. But that was long ago. And I had never been what people call a sportive person. Still, I was decided to go deeper in my own way of challenging my body and my limits, and that is when the whole thing about running began for me. 

At the beginning running felt quite tiring and demanding. But after a while my condition started to improve and running soon became a habit - a very welcome habit in my schedule. Sometimes I would catch myself looking forward to the next morning just because I knew I would have a training session by then. The more I ran, the more I liked it. At the end of that same year I ran my first 10km race. That was my debut in "the world of running races", and I really enjoyed it. Since then running and taking part in races became a very pleasureful part of my life, and a passion.  

I am still amazed how the decision of running the way home in that Sunday afternoon has impacted my life. It has changed my schedule, my interests. It led me to meet very interesting people who I would probably never have met if it was not because of running. I gave me a different view about sport in general. It brought me dreams, challenges, ambitions.

I really love running. And I hope I can keep on doing it for a long long time.