Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 52

PJ’S PIECE By PJ Moses Down but Not Out I watched a heavyweight boxing title fight a few months ago, an epic bout between two of the best fighters ever to put on boxing gloves. It was a former champ against a current champ, a hard-hitter against a skilled strategist with a good chin, and nobody knew what was going to happen, or how it was going to end... A s the fight went on, the strategist was piling on the points, but the hard-hitter put him down on the canvas more than once, and so the last round would decide the outcome. It was like a real-life Rocky movie! The strategist was knocked down again, and everybody thought that’s it, no way he can get up. The hard-hitter even lifted his arms and acknowledged the cheers from the crowd, but the strategist wasn’t done yet. He got back up. He chose to keep fighting, and not just accept defeat. No matter how hard it gets, though, every second we are blessed to have is like a nugget of gold. We have the chance every day to be better than before, and to be better than we thought we could be. Life is beautiful... just as that Italian film said! In my life, I have been to the depths of the darkness, but I passed through it and I found my lane. The fear of falling back to where I was is a constant worry, though. No matter what changes I make, and how many peaks I tag, literally and figuratively, I can’t outrun the fear and the doubt. But my saving grace has been the time I spend alone in my running shoes, on a long stretch of tar, or a winding single-track. It clears my head and fuels my passion to be the best I can be with each step. Fuel the Fire Inside You run your own race as you live your life, by the strength of your heart and mind, and the fire in your soul. Your goal must be to burn your fire so brightly that they can see it on the other side of the world, but every time you choose to quit, you are throwing water on the flames. Every time you choose to keep going, though, you are throwing more fuel on it. Running can be like that, too. When you start off, you feel as strong as an ox and as fleet-footed as a springbok, but there will come a time during your run, especially if it is a long run, when you feel like you can’t take another step. But the top of any hill is just a few steps away. The top of the mountain is a climb away. All you need to do is believe and persevere. If you have to walk for a bit, then walk. If you have to take a breather, then do just that, but don’t you ever quit on yourself. The temptation will come to give up, but don’t give in to it, because if you do then a habit of quitting will form. Just like winning is a habit, so too is losing, and you don’t want that. Winning is not just about being in first place, it is also about getting to the finish. Now you may not be a boxer in a title fight, but those choices are still yours to make, and it applies to running, too. Will you stay down, or will you rise up and keep going. Life is made up of these accumulated choices, and in the end, the way you choose to live will determine the quality of it, so choose what is right for you and keep going. Life on the Run I find that life always seems like floating somewhere out on the blue vastness that is the ocean. Sometimes you find yourself on nice calm seas, and everything is blissful and beautiful in your life. Other times, you are being spun around by the biggest waves you’ve ever seen, just trying to keep your head above the water and not sink beneath the surface. 52 ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PJ is a former Cape Flats gangster who took up running, and writing about it, when he turned his back on that dangerous lifestyle in order to set a better example for his two sons. Today he is an accomplished runner, from short distances to ultra-marathons, recently began working in running retail, and his exceptional writing talent has opened still more doors in his new life. He fought the remainder of that final round with renewed vigour, launching a high tempo and accurate attack, and when the fight ended in a draw, nobody who had watched it was too upset about the result. All the talk was about the last round knockdown and the comeback. He was down, but he was not out. He chose to fight, and that earned him a better result than the one he would have gotten if he had stayed down.