Endurance

Definitions of endurance on the Web:

1)the power to withstand hardship or stress; "the marathon tests a runner's endurance"
survival: a state of surviving; remaining alive
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

2)Endurance is the act of sustaining prolonged stressful effort.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance

In one of my recent discussions with a dear friend of mine, I related the story that taught me the true meaning of endurance. Read and use as food for thought:

I am an avid enthusiast of go-karting. To those of you, who are not familiar with it, it is basically a small frame of a vehicle, running on one or two engines, capable of reaching very high speeds. Basically, it is a safer and cost-effective alternative to racing with cars. During my university years (not long ago!), I was part of many teams that participated in different races. The most exciting of these races, is the 24 hours endurance race.

Yes, 24 hours straight! You get to be part of a team, that runs around a circuit for 24 hours, changing drivers when the need to refuel or to have a mechanical check, comes. This race tests your strategy, your skills, your team work and more importantly, the level of endurance.

To me at the beginning of my karting experience, it was a game of pure speed. I would kill myself to reach the highest speed, and beat all. I started becoming good during the small races, mainly because of my weight loss (big factor) and skill level that kept increasing with every week of experience. That also taught me that strategy is important, which I started becoming good at.

However, when the first time came for me to drive in the 24 hr race, I made the terrible mistake of nearly-wrecking the kart a million times! I was called off. I went back home feeling miserable. The second time was even worse, and I started feeling that no way I would ever become good enough to race again.

My third chance was presented to me, and I felt terrified. What if I let my team down again? What if I continue to crash the kart? In this race, you have only ONE kart during the whole 24 hours: This means if we wreck the kart, we are out. Then I heard the comment that changed my perspective about this race.

My friend came and told me: “Endurance race is not about who achieves the highest speed. It is about the driver who is in control of his kart … who knows the ins and outs of the kart … who makes sure that the kart lasts 24 hours without the need to go for a mechanical check, and yet maintains his speed and strategy. You are alone in that race, there is no one else racing but yourself”

To me that sounded like gibberish, but then I thought about it. The kart is very delicate. If I hit something, then definitely a part of the kart will need repair. This means that I will have to wait while the mechanics fixes it, while my opponents are creating more distance between me and them. Then I realized, it is not only about who is fastest! It is also about the driver who is able to “endure” the race … because if you endure the race – you are a winner!

Many times in our lives, we find ourselves in the racing circuit … being in conditions that we hate, but that we are forced to go through. We know the end of the story, that whoever completes the circuit wins. However, it is not about who is fastest, but it is about who endures the race. If we hit a barrier, and do not get up, then we already lost the race. We are alone in our little races, but we know that we need to learn, not only to be skillful and fast … but also how to endure.

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory."
William Barclay