“Eh bro why you run so slow.”
I tell you ah, it’s all because of my shoes. If I had better and more expensive shoes I confirm run a lot faster.
“Nonsense la, people run without shoes also faster than you lor please.”
Nani? I don’t believe.
Bandages Not Shoes
Well, it turns out that it is true that shoes are not the reason why I’m a slow runner.
An 11-year-old girl ran without shoes in an athletic competition and clinched three gold medals.
Well, kind of without shoes.
The 11-years-old girl’s name is Rhea. Rhea was representing her primary school, Salvacian Elementary School at the Iloilo Sports Council Meet.
When you think about athletes going for competitions, even at the school level, you would expect pretty impressive gear and equipment.
Or at the very least, working running shoes.
Rhea, unlike myself, never let that get in the way of her victory and pursuit of excellence.
She raced proudly in her makeshift shoes and won Gold medals in three categories, 400m dash, an 800m dash, and even a 1,500m dash.
The girl merely wrapped her foot with bandages, and to pay homage to the most famous brand of sporting footwear in the world, she drew a Nike logo on the bandages.
Almost as if she was telling herself to Just Do It.
A Timely Reminder
The story of this overachieving little girl is a timely reminder about our consumerist habits — that we should stop buying things that we think can help us achieve our goals.
We should instead look inside for the strength to do so.
Remember all those Nike commercials of amazingly lightweight shoes and clothes? And all those super trainers who advertise themselves to be able to get you into shape in three months?
It seems as if it’s only when you buy a Nike product or sign up for a particular fitness class that can you feel and be fitter. This is not true; fitness programmes and diets are easily available online and are very simple, all that is required is some effort, not thousand-dollar weight loss programmes.
This little girl has shown us that it is not about the shoes you wear, but the race you run.
