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If you are a follower of endurance sports, you may have heard of the Iditorod. It's a sled dog race lasting 9 days and covering 1150 miles... It is listed as one of the toughest endurance events in the world. Oh, don't worry, Ironman and Tour de France are in there too...

Really, the majesty in this event is the dogs. You take a team of huskies and make THEM run for 9 days. What is THEIR motivation? They don't seek prizes, trophies, money, or the glory of qualifying in their age group... They aren't looking to do a personal best... And I can't imagine that their motivation is that they are hunting a prey - I haven't seen any gigantic cariboo at the end of the race where the carcus goes to the winner...

Huskies like to run. They are motivated by two thoughts, "I'm running" and "When's the next time I can run?" They are loyal to their owners and run for them, but really, it is just pure running.

I have a few friends who are like this. They just like to run... With dogs and animals, there is a survival instinct at work here. For us athlete's, do we have the same survival instinct? In some respects, we do... After all, try running hard when you are completely unmotivated. We need to create the "survival" instinct in us when we get out there. Maybe that's a goal we have. That's definitely why we run with more conviction during a race. Maybe we realize how good it feels to get out for a quick 10k after a tough day of work. Is that a survival mechanism? After all, how much better do you feel when you finish?

And the drive to survive creates the instinct to run. In dogs, it is definitely so. Maybe in order to drive ourselves into that "survival" mode enough to be motivated to get out there even when we are not feeling as fit as we would like comes from having a desire and a goal compelling enough to get us moving. For me, it's Ironman. For a few of my friends, it's an ultra marathon. I know when I trained for Ironman in 2002 my "real" desire came in June when I realized just how close the race was and how little I felt I had trained. I was most certainly afraid and that fear was a great "survival" instinct... Actually, my friend Paul signed up for Ironman after having spent a year learning to swim for the first time. HIS motivation was definitely survival (sorry Paul, but it's a good story)...

Conversely, when we don't have that compelling reason, that purpose, that "Boston marathon qualification", then what IS the point? Can we just be a dog and run? Are we that instinctual. I'd like to think I am to some level, as I know I need to run just to feel good most days, and last year (2005), NOT being able to run made me depressed. But running just for the pure joy of it? Pushing the limits just because they are there to be pushed? I think it happens, but few of us apply that sheer joy consistently.

I do know people like this, and I marvel at their enthusiasm. They truly act like a child getting to play outside when you ask them if they'd like to go for a run. Or, for that matter (although I hesitate to say this for fear of insulting someone), like an energetic husky...

Maybe running for 9 days and 1000 + miles would give you that love and joy for running, although I don't know if I would want to run the 10th day.

When do you know you're enjoying it? You just know, and then you never stop running.

"I just felt like running" - Forrest Gump