"To give less than your best....is to sacrifice the gift"

This simple statement is credited to Steve Prefontaine, legendary American distance runner who left his mark-though dying in a car accident in his mid-20's-by an unprecedented will to get the most of himself every time he laced up his shoes. Winning races was a mere by-product of his real passion...to seek the best inside himself. This transcended his running, as he was a pioneer in the move to allow amateur athletes a stipend, as he himself-at the height of American distance running-was relegated to food stamps to continue his pursuit of excellence, and an eventual performance in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

I call attention to this statement, and the life of Steve Prefontaine, to spotlight the fact that we can all have impact in life, even if we're not a world-class runner-or "world-class" anything. When we conduct ourselves with dignity, treat others as we hope to be treated, and pursue whatever our passion-or current plight is-with all the diligence and stick-to-itiveness we can, we raise the caliber of everything and everyone around us. In fact, the entire world is enhanced.

Through this blog-and website www.runbravo.com- I hope to share and exchange with others the tools, ideas, and approaches-mental and physical-that "raise the level" of your game. Please contribute as you like, and thanks for taking a look.

I want to thank my good friend Jill Beardsley (who orchestrated this blogsite.) Jill's husband, marathon legend Dick Beardsley, has opened my eyes numerous times with his never-say-die approach to adversity, and I'm proud to call him a great friend. I always look forward to our runs whenever we arrive in the same area code.

Thanks again, and I'll see you all on the roads......Mark