The Law for the Wolves

“NOW this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

–Rudyard Kipling

 

I admittedly have a fondness for this poem. My football team recites this after every victory, and fortunately for YHC’s heart, they recited it 8 times this season. I doubt even Harvard recites Rudyard Kipling after football games, but that’s a discussion for another time- perhaps with OBT.

It shouldn’t need too much explanation as to why this passage applies to F3. That final line sums up everything that makes F3 important for YHC. There have been many posts about cold weather, getting better, 2015 goals, etc. There are countless reasons to show up and post. Of course we all want to see each other achieve fitness, personal and spiritual goals in 2015. The success or failure of the individual directly impacts the success or failure of the group, and vice versa. Full disclosure- I could care less if I ever run a sub-20 minute 5k, crank out 10,000 merkins in a month or post 5 days a week. In fact, I will pretty much guarantee none of those things will happen for YHC. But I will cheer on and coach up anyone striving for such goals. Because anything that benefits the individual will benefit the pack.

My goal for 2015 is focusing more outward. The Swamp Rabbit region has seen explosive growth over the past year- from 4 to 5 workouts per week to well over 30 in an every growing region. What I witnessed while posting in Charlotte Metro starting 2+ years ago was an amazing drive and passion for getting involved with groups such as Let Me Run, Billingsville Elementary, and creating Mission I’m Possible. Sure, there is regional pride in putting together a fast mud run or BRR team, but again, I could care less. What I believe spurs on this eagerness to get involved in community building is the energy created by setting and achieving personal goals. Never thought you could run a 5K and suddenly you’ve run a half marathon? Great, bet you never considered getting involved with a men’s shelter either, and now you are fired up to help other men become the Men they are supposed to be in their communities.

So maybe you’ve read the posts about embracing the miserable workouts, avoiding the fartsack and pushing yourself to be tougher and perhaps rolled your eyes. The point of getting out in the gloom and pushing each other goes far beyond fitness goals. It’s creating that passion, drive and commitment to be better Men in our communities. Then, taking that ever building energy, drive, excitement etc and applying it to helping others. We all feed off of each other. The strength of each wolf is derived from the pack. Our mission statement is simple and straight forward: to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership. We live in a society that enjoys blaming the highest level of government for all of our problems. The truth is, we all hold the ability to better what is right in front of us- our own communities. No more blame, it’s time for ownership. Let’s focus on our own communities and build within. Let’s see anyone try and tear down our own Pack.

One final story that hammers this home for YHC. My favorite moment of 2014 was a friendly competition between the two track workouts hosted in the Swamp Rabbit region, Ring of Fire and Beastside. The idea was to show up to a 5K and take the top 5 finishers from each location, averaging the finish times to see which location was faster. Twitter trash talk aside, the race itself became a microcosm for all F3 stands for. The course was an out and back, meaning the leaders made the turn and ran right past the rest of the contestants. Early on, I spotted our two fastest, Mega Mu and Aloha, running back on the heels of the race leaders. Without breaking stride, they made eye contact and shouted “looking strong Slim”. I heard them keep that up as they passed others. They completely forgot their own race every time they spotted pax, and each of us in turn did the same when we spotted another in the crowd. There were track clubs and teams out there that day, but only F3 had this interaction and encouragement. All 3 F’s were experienced and shared that day. That I ran my fastest 5K ever is an afterthought. Individually, we all succeeded. In doing so, our pack grew stronger. Over breakfast afterward, we all game planned the eventual successful launch of a new region in Anderson. This region has grown and expanded. The mission of F3 continues to succeed.  It is this same kind of encouragement that leads us all to work harder to better others as well as ourselves.

So, set those goals. Avoid too much time in the fartsack. Encourage accountability (ok fine, I do have one fitness goal- PR a 50 miler). Look outward. 2014 was an epic year for YHC. Let’s make 2015 one for the ages. Aye!

–Slim