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Today I ran

By on in words

Today I ran
For the sound of the surf and the breath of the wind
To turn my back on the cares of the day
To unknot my shoulders
And give my eyes a broader landscape than a brightly lit screen.

Today I ran
Not so far or so fast
But because I can.
I ran for those who will no longer run
Poppies in Flanders’ fields
Dust in Camp Bastion.

And as I ran
In the desert under the sun
Through the woods in moonlight
Up through the fells and down through the scree
The trudgers, the plodders, the brave, the hardy
The crazy, the committed, the hopeful and the glad
Joined me.

And among our numbers were the gods
The fleet of foot and bright of smile
Who astonish us all with their flashes of brilliance
And breathe the same breath.

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2 Responses to Today I ran

  1. Barry Cornelius at #

    In my early days of running, I came across “The Song of the Ungirt Runners” by Charles Hamilton Sorley. He died in action in the first World War when he was 20 years old. I particularly like:


    The rain is on our lips,
    We do not run for prize.
    But the storm the water whips
    And the wave howls to the skies.
    The winds arise and strike it
    And scatter it like sand,
    And we run because we like it
    Through the broad, bright land.

    • The Scribbler at #

      Thank you Barry. That’s a wonderful poem that I haven’t seen before. Some of my friends and I have developed a kind of mantra along the same lines that goes: “We run because we can. we run because we love it.” If I’m feeling cheeky I usually add “and because we’re nutters” at the end.