It's a marathon, not a sprint...

Wil Wheaton is someone I read for the sake of reading, not because he's a policy wonk, or always has something important to say, but because whatever he's saying, it interests me, and often moves me.



Today, he started a brief chronicle of a marathon he and his wife Anne took part in as a fundraising effort to support a friend with leukemia.



The substance of the post, and the spirit of the post are both moving - and because I can be non-linear (more often than not) in my thinking, I really latched onto the small part of the piece that dealt with making it through to the end of the 26 miles. The How, the mental focus, the mantra.

Just keep going. Just keep going.



Yeah! That works. Nothing to really think about, nothing to trick myself into believing. It's just a simple but effective motivation in three short words.



Just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep going.



I looked up at the horizon, relaxed neck and shoulders, and just kept going. I filled my conscious mind with my new mantra, and let my subconscious mind find a way to let my body continue moving forward. After a few minutes (I think) I put myself into a sort of trance.



Just keep going.

That is where I am, too. The election is November 2. I've been running since last December... I have to keep going, keep focused, and press forward. Like Wil and Anne, who undertook a challenging run to benefit and try to change something beyond themselves - something they care about, I am also running to benefit and work to change something I care about - government and public policy in Oregon. And the race I am in certainly qualifies as a challenge.