Two of the biggest passions in my life since I was a teenager have been classic rock and running. I still remember the first time the needle touched the vinyl to hear Bruce Springsteen's masterpiece 'Thunder Road'; was 14, going into my first year of running cross country and, just like Bruce letting his audience into his journey, I was about to begin mine. Whether you are a fan of classic rock or not, everyone can relate to two imperfect people dreaming of what lies beyond the horizon if they have the courage to make a change.
“Don't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore"
The definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over expecting a different result. The narrator is telling the other main character, Mary, to not retreat back into what is comfortable because it'll just be more of the same. Change for anyone is hard, especially for notoriously regimented endurance athletes. So many rather repeat the same old blueprint year after year because it's comfortable. I can not tell you how often I talk to a perspective athletes about our program and they cringe because it's very 'different' than what they are used to; the athlete can go years without improvement but sometimes to them it doesn't matter because they'd rather be comfortable than go outside the box. Our program is different than most which can be scary but we are also very pragmatic and urge others to be the same. There are so many athletes not only all over the US but right here in Chicago (many in their 'prime') who I see in results staying the same or getting slower. If something works stick to it; if it doesn't have the courage to change.
"You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now, I ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood"
Mary continues to hide under covers, wishing to be free, wishing for someone or something to just rescue her. The narrator is also imperfect but wanting change. He is not a hero and can't promise Mary anything but a chance. So many times in our sport we continue to go down the same road wishing and hoping for change, a change that most times never comes. We look to a new fad diet, latest updated GPS watch or promises of a better tomorrow from our coach instead of realizing that it's up to the individual to make that change. Life is too short to reminisce in regret; so many athletes think their career is a future event. Their career is happening right now because there is no promise of tomorrow.
"With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now?
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well, the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels"
The roads of life can take people to amazing places; just need to take a chance and give up past life (wings) for what you really want (wheels). The visual of using Thunder Road as a metaphor for life is a powerful one. So many times we believe our sport to be a bell curve; but our success is not linear. There are workouts that go great and you feel like anything is possible; some beg the question "Why am I even doing this?". To quote Boston Marathon champion Desi Linden, "Just keep showing up." There is nothing more important in this sport than consistency.
"There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines rolling on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win"
This is arguably the most meaningful verse; the "graduation gowns laying in rags at their feet" is a great symbolic phrase referring to forgetting your past and starting fresh. Mary has always wanted someone to save her from her trapped life, and the narrator is telling her that the town is full of losers and he's here to save her for real this time and pull out of town 'to win'. I have been fortunate enough to have been around this amazing sport for years and have seen so many others sit at that crossroads; wondering what direction to take. There are no guarantees in this sport but I can promise this; if you have the courage to take the road less traveled and go all in with being your best; when it's all said and done, there will be no regrets.
"What I hoped it would be when I wrote the song was what I got out of Rock n Roll music which was a sense of a larger life, a greater experience, more fun. A sense that your personal exploration and your possibilities and the idea that it was all aligned somewhere inside of you, just on the edge of town. This was my big invitation to my audience, to myself, to anybody that was interested. My invitation to a long and very earthly journey, hopefully in the company of someone you love, people you love, and in search of a home you can feel a part of. Good luck.” -Bruce Springsteen