Where Are You Going?
Thomas A. Murray
I don’t spend much time watching television, but I am a big fan of cooking competition shows. Top Chef is my favorite of them — it’s a show I will watch, over and over, just to have some background noise. Now that they have finished 18 seasons, it makes for quite a marathon.
Speaking of marathons, this is how I spend a lot of my time: running. I developed a passion for running in 2017 after training for and running my first 5k. A little over a year after that first 5k, I ran my first full marathon. It was quite a moment of triumph — I had mastered the ultimate running distance, or so I thought.
It was Top Chef and my desire to follow through on my sense of wonder and curiosity that proved me wrong about the marathon being the “ultimate” distance. During Season 12, hosted in Boston, one of the contestants talked about having been a long-distance runner and that he had competed in several ultramarathons. “Huh? What’s an ultramarathon?” I thought. Not surprisingly, an ultramarathon is any footrace longer than a marathon; just looking at the word, the definition of ultramarathons was not surprising to me, but their existence was. Who knew that people ran longer than a marathon? That week I spent hours researching ultramarathons — types, distances, strategies — and signed up for my first 50k trail race. I have since completed several 50k, a 50-mile, and two 100k events. Hopefully, in 2022, I’ll finish my first 100-mile event.
Following through on that one bit of wonder changed things dramatically for me, not just in the distances I run, but in the way I approach running. Because of the longer distances, I started working with a strength trainer and then — because I wanted to learn how to be a better and healthier runner — studied to become a certified personal trainer and running coach. It was not to work as a trainer or a running coach, mind you; rather, it was to continue the learning that would support my interests.
What you wonder has value. It can shape your academic studies, provide guidance for your career, and — as in the above example — enhance your personal life and interests. This section is called “Where Are You Going?” and focuses on the ideas of wonder, curiosity, and reflection. Tapping into and reflecting upon your wonder and curiosity can dramatically shape the way you consider and work toward your future — the way that you write the answer to the question, “Where are you going?”
As you read Part 3, consider these questions:
- How have wonder and curiosity shaped where you are now?
- What are some things that you wonder or are curious about?
- What are some ways that you can “dig in” to your wonder and curiosity during your time at UA?
Author’s Note: I did not, in fact, complete that 100-mile ultramarathon in 2022. And that’s okay. Part of setting and pursuing goals is monitoring them and adjusting them as we need to in order to achieve them in the long run (pun intended, sorry). I had a few minor injuries that set me back and rather than sacrifice my long-term goals for a short-term gain, I withdrew from that race. I still have the goal of completing that 100-miler; but the bigger goal I have of being a healthy runner for years to come shapes how I pursue that 100-mile race.
