For our columnist, it’s those little things that happen around running that matter. It is precisely those who motivate, touch and give hope. For him, it doesn’t always have to be the hunger for best times.
You know me. I’m not one of those running experts who preaches how to get under the three-hour marathon faster. And you will never find a diet plan in this column on how to lose 20 kilos as quickly as possible.
Even today there should be room for a little story, an encounter that motivates. That can give you strength and hope so that things are going better or even running again for you. It’s those little moments that drive me over and over again. From which I draw strength for the next run. It’s good for me to keep talking to other runners about our sport.
The exchange alone inspires me, motivates me, I take something away from almost every runner conversation. Every encounter teaches me something. And I especially like to learn from those who are at a completely different point in life.
Mike Kleiß has been doing sports since he was a child. “If you move, you achieve more” is his motto in life. Running was always his favorite topic. For seven years he has been running between 15 and 20 kilometers almost every day, often in marathons and sometimes in ultra marathons. So far, our columnist has published two books on running. He is the founder and managing director of the communications agency GOODWILLRUN. Mike Kleiß lives with his family in Hamburg and Cologne. He writes about running here every Thursday.
Anise is such a person. Whenever I meet him, a good mood is the order of the day. His Tunisian roots apparently give him a good mood and joie de vivre. A combination that he always reliably shows to the outside world. And whenever I need that wonderful dose of fun and joy, I visit Aniss.
He works as a waiter in a trendy restaurant in Cologne. Aniss is a runner and he works hard to win. He improved by 13 minutes the second time he took part in the Cologne Marathon and I know he did a lot for it.
I have known Sascha for as long as I have known Aniss and chatted with him briefly about running. He serves the classic cliché of a homeless person. Terribly thin, even sunken, so that the greasy leather jacket almost falls off the shoulders. He sells the homeless newspaper and is often driven out. You can see he’s a junkie and he makes no secret of it.
From overweight chain smoker to marathon runner – a success story
“I just operated on my molar tooth myself. With a toothpick. I can’t go to the dentist. But the thing had to come out. I had a taste at the moment of eating too much cabbage. do you know the taste So away with it. I have an appointment as a chef. I can’t go there smelling. And I have to take a shower. And need new socks. Can you lend me 15 euros until Friday, Mike?” Sascha asks me.
“I can hardly walk, I’m in a bad way. But I have to move. I have to get off the street.” I remembered the times when things didn’t work out for me. When I wasn’t running. When I was too fat and maybe didn’t have a good charisma in another way. Back then, dear people were there for me. And now I could give something back. In the form of 15 euros.
“We make a deal, Sasha. I’ll give you the money. We’ll meet here on Friday at 2 p.m. And you give it back to me For the sake of clarity: only then will I buy the newspaper from you in the future,” I said. “Deal. I’ll be here on Friday”, Sascha put his very weak hand on it.
Aniss always feeds the homeless when they need it. “Why should I throw these things away if they’re left over? That’s unnecessary. At least that way they can be used. Incidentally, colleagues of mine have also lent Sascha money. He didn’t return it, Mike.” I nod to Anise. I was grateful to him. For his gesture, and for his tip. And yet there was peace within me. A strange kind of trust in the heart.
Two days later, at 2 p.m. sharp, Sascha was standing in front of the restaurant. He beamed. He hadn’t got the job, they didn’t put their trust in a homeless junkie. He handed me the 15 euros. “I took a step. I walked to the appointment, by the way, Mike. I made a start”, said Sascha happily.
He made me feel better myself than after many a marathon. Inside I cheered. And showed Sascha how proud I was of him. Each of us has the opportunity to give another the chance to move. Let’s use them. That’s how it works.
Read all of Mike Kleiß’s columns here.
