Jan 8, 2021
"The most important thing that I will ever do with my life is
finding a way to convince people to believe in their own dreams and
to find a way to understand that it's not about the how it's about
the thing that drives you to live the life that makes you
happiest."
— Jon Rankin
On your heart
Growing up, Jon didn't know he had talent. But he knew he’d
accomplish what his heart went after. This led him on a running
journey through attending UCLA to then being an alternate in the
Olympics.
He reminds us that,
“Your
heart knows all the answers to all the questions that you have
about what the heck you're supposed to be doing with your
life.”
We are trained to ignore our intuition and gut because it’s not
always clear it’s the right thing. But Jon says things always work
themselves out and that it’s about moving forward and doing what
makes you happy.
On Identity
It's easy to get caught up in identifying yourself as a runner, Jon
says. We often take up the identity of the sport we do versus the
person who does that sport. Jon says this is similar to
race.
“As
a black man, I don't think about being Black. I see myself as a man
who happens to be Black. You know, I don't put the color before the
person of the human being. I'm a human being.”
On Parenting
Parenting isn’t easy, but Jon says it’s about time and love. Every
mistake is a part of the journey because there’s an unspoken
understanding that allows those parent-child bonds to never be
shaken. He says relationships get better with time and
love.
On Running
Jon has never looked at the rosters to see who he would run
against. He didn’t want to know. because he felt he didn’t need to
know. Why? He shares that in running just like in life, you can't
dictate how others are going to do, you can only focus on your own
performance. Trust your own talent.
On Being an Artist
“I felt like in many ways, I do anything in life as an artist, I'm
a creator. A performer,” Jon says. Running is like a performance
because you communicate through every step and every surge. You go
through the moves, the failures. Running is a canvas you can paint
with your efforts.
Living with Kidney Disease
When he was 26, Jon was going through a routine physical exam a few
weeks before the Olympic trials when the doctors discovered he had
kidney disease. He was at the top of his athletic career when
suddenly gets told he as a progressive terminal illness which ended
his professional running career.
But Jon chose to see this ending as a new beginning. He made the
choice to re-examine what was important in his life. Relationships,
family, life’s meaning. He questioned everything and suddenly
running wasn’t as important as it used to be. This led him on the
path to starting a family, starting his own business, and still
having a positive relationship with the sport.
Go Be More
In 2007 Jon came up with the idea to start his company called Go Be
More based on the fairy tale of the ginger bread man. He saw this
story of the little cookie who didn’t want to just be born to be
eaten. Jon says every human being is born into this world that
wants to consume who they are before they have a chance to be who
they were born to be. So Go Be More was born.
Jon’s a writer, a storyteller. He wanted to be like the Ginger
Bread Man and inspire others to Go Be More.
“We are the gingerbread man. We are born into this world that
wants to tell us who we are based on our religion, our sex or
sexual orientation, our class our ethnicity. You know what we're
born and yet within us, you know, we know that we want to be
something more than we're more than what the world says we are so
that box that we’re born into this identity. It's what the world
has placed upon us and so we have to cast it away. We have to find
a way to Go Be More. To run towards the thing that truly will help
us to be who we were born to be.”
Jon may have not achieved all the running dreams he had, but he is
certainly a happier person because he chased them.
Resources:
Thank you to my wonderful sponsor Momentous, Generation UCAN,
and Tracksmith for sponsoring this episode of the Running for
Real Podcast.
Here is a brand new sponsor,
Momentous and I’m excited to start this relationship with them.
This week I want to highlight Momentous collagen. Use Momentous
Collagen Peptides daily for long-term joint health, resilience
against injury, and faster return to running. The most popular ways
to use are in a smoothie or with your morning coffee! It mixes in
super easily and is totally unflavored. Most products claim to be
“unflavored” but still carry a strong scent of their source, be it
bovine-hide or marine collagen. Ew.
You can go here and use code TINA
for 20% off any product as Momentous.
Tracksmith is a Boston based running clothing
company that truly cares about the quality and care of their
running clothes. Running can be a demanding lifestyle for our
clothes, they definitely go through the wear and tear to where we
may be purchasing new clothes constantly. Tracksmith designers
truly work with the finest materials and think of you as a runner
in mind with spots for your keys, phone, and fuel. You can also go
here to check out my favorites!
You can get $15 off your purchase of $75 or more, click here and enter code
TINA15.
Thank you Generation UCAN, I have been talking
about them for years and my ONLY source for fueling while I am
training and racing. And without fail I have had a product of UCAN
every day, whether it is a peanut butter chocolate bar or their
delicious cookies and cream protein powder. It gives you a steady
energy without the sugar, so there are no sugar high or
crashes!
Use code TINAUCAN for 20% off of your
order.
Go here to learn more.
Thanks for listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
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Thank you to Jon, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the
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