Meet Brian Pope

Brian Pope is a guy who lives in Oxford, MS, near "the square." He ran cross country and track @ Ole Miss in the 80's. Brian is now 45. He lives alone in very modest, if not subsistence level, conditions, and off of about $10,000 a year. Brian competes at a high level of running, recently winning the world masters (people 40 and over) cross country championships, and setting most of the national records from 3 to 10k. He's a fast dude, no matter what his age, but for someone 45, he's really fast. During graduate school, in 2003, I had the chance to race him in a large road race. In that race I ran well, setting my personal best in the 10k (right around 32 minutes flat). Brian beat me by a minute and a half. I wanted to write about him b/c althought he's not a "normal" guy w/ what I'd consider normal goals, I feel he embodies the spirit of those who really enjoy the sport of running, those who are willing to sacrifice, not for goals, but for the pure enjoyment that "participation in" brings. Click here to read more about Brian Pope.

I've avoided writing much about running b/c most people that know me, know that I enjoy running. I hope that this sheds light on the motivation. I've also decided to post my daily workouts as a blog entry whether or not I write something meaningful. It will help me to see it in writing and give me another layer of motivation. Maybe when I'm 45 I can be 1/2 as fast as Mr. Pope.