Running Reflections (from the Maasai Mara)
a personal essay by
Harsha Misra (he/him)
This summer I was fortunate enough to visit Kenya’s Maasai Mara national reserve. It seems almost impossible that such a vast, magnificent, untouched natural habitat still exists in today’s world. And I am deeply grateful for the opportunity I had to experience it first-hand.
Watching the millions of animals that bring “the Mara” to life, I realized something: They run. Lion and cheetah, gazelle and ostrich, hyena and jackal, wildebeest and zebra, elephant and rhino, wart-hog and buffalo. They all run. Even animals that look like they should stick to walking can flat out run (e.g., look up “charging hippo” or “sprinting giraffe”).
Well, I run too. But my running doesn’t seem to be the same thing. It’s a hobby, something I do for fun in my spare time. What if I stopped? My resting heart rate (and belt size) would go up a few notches. And I wouldn’t have as many “epic” race stories for friends to pretend to care about. Pretty trivial stuff.
Not so for the animals of Maasai Mara. Their running is life and death, eat or be eaten, survive or perish. And it’s fully, seamlessly, naturally integrated into their everyday moments (no weekly signup sheets needed). I saw a cheetah taking down a gazelle, both going at full throttle. A hyena darting in and out to steal a zebra leg. A young elephant “easy-pace” jogging to catch up with adult tuskers. A baby wildebeest desperately stampeding across a river, mother alongside, only to end up in the waiting mouth of a giant crocodile (… my daughter, also watching, may never sing “circle of life” the same way again). It’s all very raw, real, and high-stakes.
Indeed, wild animals run with a natural, instinctive purpose. They are either running away from something specific, or chasing down something specific. Not simply pushing themselves to accrue mileage for the sake of achieving milestones. And this got me wondering: Maybe, in a way, our human running is not that different.
It’s true that the things wild animals are running away from or chasing down are tangible, real-world, and physical (e.g., predators and prey, famine and food, drought and rain). Fortunately, such things are not hugely relevant in our Brooklyn lives. But what about intangible things which exist largely in our minds (e.g., thoughts, feelings, emotions)? Maybe these are the things we are running away from and chasing down? And maybe these things ultimately matter more than our medals, PRs, and finisher photos?
I hadn’t considered it this way before. And, reflecting further, I realized that I first started running precisely when I was going through a very difficult period in my life. Running was not part of some therapeutic masterplan. It just felt like something I naturally wanted to do at the time. Whether I knew it or not, perhaps I was trying to run away from negativity. And it helped. It still does.
As I kept up my running, I began to hit milestones: First 5k, first 10k, first half, first marathon, first marathon under four hours. And so on. Now I have run ten marathons. But I have long forgotten many of the past milestones that once seemed to mean so much. I’ve lost track of my PRs. And I can’t even remember where most of the medals are (apparently they don’t qualify as “grown up” décor, so I put them away). But I still run. Perhaps what I am specifically chasing down is not any milestone, but the incomparable feelings of positivity that running delivers. The empowering “high” one can never get enough of.
Running may not literally be “survive or perish'' for me the way it is for animals of the Maasai Mara. Yet watching them helped me realize that it plays a role far more powerful, primal, and vital than I had previously appreciated. This may already be obvious to those with more reflective natures. But I found it to be an unexpected, inspirational insight. And, from now on, I intend to run with my mind on the Mara, and the Mara on my mind!
Undisputed champs of run-walk ultras
High stakes hill work (giant crocs in the water)
Hits 60mph in 3 seconds (even when skipping speed Tuesdays)
Can run hard, prefers posing for photos
Supreme warrior athlete (and mother of several cubs)
May not look like a Tracksmith model, can probably out-sprint one
When one pace leads, the rest usually buffollow
Ready to take on any Horseman in the AGSS 5k
Text by: Harsha Misra (he/him)
Photos by: The Misra family
Produced by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)
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