The long and lonely path we tread

“It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard" - John F. Kennedy

It is Saturday morning, it is 4.30 am in the morning, Ho Chi Minh is still asleep and it is pitch black outside. The alarm going off is the only thing that breaks the eerie silence of this vibrant city. It has been a busy week at ISHCMC as usual and that joyous weekend lie-in is all that drives my thoughts. Yet there is no lie-in, instead, I reluctantly drag myself out of bed and head downstairs and put on my running gear, grab a quick coffee, eat a banana, fill my water backpack and pack my energy snacks.

As I step out the gate and onto Nguyen van Huong, I look out at the path ahead. To be perfectly honest, it is scary. 'What are you talking about?', my inner monologue posits. That's when it hits you, it is scary for many reasons - it is full of darkness, and I mean really dark. Then there is the fear, the what-ifs. What if I get knocked down by a car or attacked by dogs or I get injured? It is quite literally a step into an abyss, the unknown - the biggest fears of all are faced, what if I can't make it?, what if it hurts too much or is too painful?, and the hardest of all, what if I fail and let myself and everyone down?

This is the story of the long and lonely path trodden by many marathon runners, who endure the gruelling training, many injuries, extreme pain, self-doubt, exhaustion, boredom and anti-social running commitments. It is not easy and comes at a cost but it can be reconciled if we find a purpose, a reason to push yourself through the pain barrier. For many it is just the challenge of completing the ultimate endurance event, I am not that much of a glutton for punishment. For me, I had to find purpose in the 'why' to justify the sacrifice it takes.

In the end, it was easy to find the why and find parallels between our life experiences and the experience of the marathon event itself. On October 4th, 2010, my best friend, younger brother and hero, Edward Sebastian Hurtado, took his own life aged 31. He was the most talented musician, singer and actor - the most incredible artist but he walked an even longer and lonelier path, that of severe clinical depression.

So the 'why'? The long, dark, lonely, fearful, and unknown path that is marathon training is nothing in comparison to a lifetime beset by the darkest thoughts, crippling loneliness, constant fear and a path that never seems navigable. It is, however, that which is the inspiration and motivation needed to push ourselves beyond what seems impossible and do what is hard because it matters. This for me was to contribute to the ‘Wintercearig Project’ which supports adolescent mental health awareness and suicide prevention through the Arts. In doing so, through a context so close to me, my actions might make a difference to just one life, and bring that one person out of the darkness and into the light, it is worth ‘running for a life’, it is worth running for every life.

So as you come to the end of this blog post, perhaps think of the difference you can make to one life, maybe someone else's or even your own. Above all else though, do try to take time to pause in life and remember that everyone has a context and a story, they are potentially on their own long and lonely path. None of us is immune to the challenges of life, rank, title or experience and they certainly don't inoculate us from the loneliness of it. We can't vaccinate against it but we can treat everyone with humanity, respect, dignity, humility and compassion not because we have to but because we want to. Any donations to the 'running for a life' campaign will be most humbly and graciously accepted. Thank you! Will