A couple of weeks ago a yearly event was held in Alaska. An athletic event you can't compare to any other competitive event in the world. Ok, perhaps the Ironman, but no other. It was a 9 day, 1150 mile race through one of the roughest, most beautiful terrains Mother Nature has to offer: jagged mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coastlines. Mushers and their dog teams faced below zero temperatures, gusting winds, snow storms, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs. This was the Iditarod. I browsed the official website to check out the ongoing competition and asked myself, what keeps these dogs running, day after day?

According to Jeff King, a veteran sled-dog racer, Alaskan huskies instinctively want to run and pull sleds. The biggest challenge a musher faces is slowing the dogs down to pace them over the distance of a lengthy race. "There are two main things in their lives, running and thinking about when they can run again."

In the wild, running for most animals is their means of survival. Eat or be eaten.

It's been millennia since we left the caves, but somehow we are still running for survival as well. Pro triathletes on race day must outrun their competition. Without a paycheck, the only thing awaiting them is another month of living on very limited means.

How good does a 10K feel after a stressful day at work? Here is one example when running is our means of staying sane. I know an individual who ran for 2 days straight! As an escapee of a prisoner of war camp, running was his only means of survival.

There are those who are born to run. If it was to be taken away from them, they would fail to live a meaningful existence. Some of us just like to run, others run for its intrinsic benefits, yet still others run because it ties in to some other goal. We all have personal reasons for running. After observing animals run, I found that we can learn quite a bit from them.

Now, let's relate this to the context of triathlon. As triathletes, we all have a certain level of commitment and dedication to the sport. If an athlete trains right, eats well, and gets adequate rest, there would be a direct correlation to his success, right? At least that's what we think. However, if the drive is absent, athletic conditioning is irrelevant. An athlete will not perform at his full potential. Consider dogs, they will run even if they are not fit out of the loyalty and devotion they have for the person they are running with.

Can we apply the enjoyment animals have towards running to ourselves? I think we can, however few of us ever have. Have you ever pushed beyond your limits? You can, in training or racing, even your personal and professional lives. And when you do, you will know! You're either in a new chapter of your life or you've just learned how to get there.

No matter what you do, never settle. Constant and never ending improvement should be your goal.

Dream big,