First things first: I appreciate action sports and endurance sports, and they are not always mutually exclusive. Take mountain biking, for example: It requires some serious leg- and lung-power to make the sport fun over the long haul, but there’s an innate intensity, too, that requires quick thinking and technical prowess to negotiate fear-raising obstacles.
I like mountain biking. But not just the downhill kind. I prefer riding uphill, actually. And running and swimming long distances as well. I didn’t always appreciate these types of sports, but the older I get, the more I grasp the universal rewards of effort. There is something that endurance-based sports—the ones that require serious time, miles, sweat, muscle, and mental stamina—have to teach us that pure action sports never will.
Action-oriented sports, which offer loads of immediate eye candy and entertainment, are now elevated, or at least more prominently featured, in our media-obsessed society. Today it seems more important to record a sick flip on a GoPro than toil alone in the woods. It’s obvious why athletic boasts, brags, and displays—even epic fails—are shared more than stories of long training runs. One is outwardly exciting, the other an inward journey. But in our growing obsession with social sharing, witnessing, and going big and living to tell about it (either as a participant or a spectator), have we lost the intrinsic value of sustained effort in exercise?
“We all have dreams, but to dream big, we have to go hard. There’s just no other way of doing it,” says 30-year sports-psychology consultant Alan Goldberg, who works regularly with swimmers, cyclists, and distance runners. “Kids are used to instant gratification, but even with today’s generation, the message is the same: If you have a dream, to make it a reality you have to pay your physical dues. Embracing hard work prepares you for a successful life.”
The long, slow slog uphill may not be as exciting to share on social media, but it may better prepare you for challenges elsewhere in life. Photo: Shutterstock
We’ve seen that younger people are regularly tied to disturbing tendencies toward apathy and entitlement, which have the potential to translate to their participation in sports as well. But at the same time, millennials are a complex and mixed bag, often busting myths with surprising capacity to give back and act quickly. Perhaps they, too, while seemingly less competitive, can find their own new forms of “endurance” in sports.
However, among such cultural pressures and generational shifts, can we prove it’s still worth it to work hard for a runner’s high that kicks in after 10 miles when you can get an adrenaline shot by launching over a cliff on skis? Why dig so deep for reward when risk delivers it so quickly? Here’s why:
- The climb, the perspiration, and the long hours in the saddle: That extended effort offers a different kind of high that lasts so much longer and is applicable to so many other parts of life. I connect with myself—and friends—for longer periods of time in nature, and more deeply because of the time demanded by the distance. I apply those interpersonal insights to my relationships in work, family, and personal life.
- I exert effort, feeling not only the physical effects of burning lungs and sore muscles, but also how the amazing physiological energy boost translates to other aspects of the daily grind. After sustained exercise, I am fresher, more laser-focused and efficient when it comes to work. Food tastes better and I eat smarter.
- After an endurance-based grind outside, I have seen more of the amazing state in which I live—and the inner state of my mind. I work out all kinds of problems and aspirations on the trails, day after day, to a backdrop that few have the privilege of experiencing. And that’s practicing gratefulness without much effort.
- The motivation that comes with pushing myself against other endurance athletes adds inspiration and competition to my life—in good ways. I apply those energies to how I work, how I parent, and how I treat my friends and family—with humility, humor, and hopefully a few more hugs. When I push myself, others are inspired to push boundaries that lead to breakthroughs. And what’s life for if not to further ourselves?
This is just my anecdotal evidence of coming to crave the long-term benefits of endurance sports. But I have a feeling there are others out there with similar stories. If you hear me, my persistent brethren, let’s stand up for the sweat, the grind, and the distance, for the effort required may yield exponential returns. Let’s teach the next generations that it’s worth it to save our endurance sports.
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