When this adventure began — running a marathon in every state to raise awareness and funds for Born Free USA — it added something unexpected to my life. I was already excited about dedicating my existing 50-state goal to a cause so close to my heart. The surprise is the subtle change it has brought to my thinking processes. I’ve been wondering, in my running life and my everyday life, How would an animal feel in this situation?
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I’m 43, I’ve been wearing glasses for everything except running since my 20s, and I got my first pair of bifocals last year. But now I need running glasses, too. The birds I love so much to see are getting blurry enough that I can’t always identify them. On my 18-mile run two days before National Bird Day, I found myself thinking, It might be a nuthatch, but … And I wondered: Do animals lose acuity of vision as they age? How would a hawk or an osprey adapt?
Same 18-mile run, just two miles into the trip around Lake Natoma and up to Folsom Lake, I tripped over a rock on an easy section of dirt trail, and down I went. Not a terrible fall — just a little road rash. Getting up and taking inventory, I realized I had rolled instinctively, as the animal I am. (Well, I’ve had some practice, too.) With minimal conscious-human thought, I resumed running. That’s what animals do; they just get up and keep going.
Running wild for the wildlife,
Cindy Haug-West