Here Goes Nothin'

"Try the meditation of the trail, just walk along looking at the trail at your feet, and don't look about and just fall into a trance as the ground zips by. Trails are like that: you're floating along in a Shakespearean Arden paradise and expect to see nymphs and fluteboys, then suddenly you're struggling in a hot broiling sun of hell in dust and nettles and poison oak . . . just like life." - Jack Kerouac

"If you're going to try, go all the way. . . You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire . . . you will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is." - Charles Bukowski

"I thought if you could run 100 miles, you'd be in this Zen state. You'd be the effing Buddha, bringing peace and a smile to the world. It didn't work in my case--I'm the same old punk-ass as before--but there's always that hope that it will turn you into the person you want to be, a better, more peaceful person. When I'm out on a long run, the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn't going blehblehbleh all the time. Everything quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow. It's just me and the movement and the motion. That's what I love--just being a barbarian, running through the woods." - Jenn Shelton