Do not fret…
 about the choices you have made,
  and whether they will all work out…
 about how long it might take,
  and whether you will come out on top…
 about what more you could have done,
  whilst always fearing that you will fail…
 about how you will feel…
  in the long run.

Just sink in…
 as a buzzard swoops low across your path,
  and the clouds scuttle away to reveal a blue sky…
 as a friendly dog trots by your side,
  and grass-munching cows share your field of play…
 as you emerge from the darkness of the woods,
  and a stunning new landscape comes into view…
 as you immerse yourself…
  in the long run.

(c) Tim O’Hare, August 2024

---

About this poem: This poem combines two of my favourite activities – pondering the ways of the human mind and its struggles with living life and long-distance running. Unsurprisingly, the idea for the poem emerged while I was out for (or should I write ‘in’?) a long run yesterday morning – just the simple notion that in life as in my long runs it is vital to try to stay immersed in the experience rather than focusing and probably worrying about how things might turn out. In the end, a long run successfully reaches its destination and (I think) so too will life if you can just let it unfold whilst enjoying whatever it brings your way!