My name is Ade Olude — I’ve run over 60,000 miles, hundreds of marathons and ultramarathons (including a 109-mile day), studied the marathon monks, and used running, yoga, prayer and discipline to raise awareness for homelessness after divorce, a stroke, being hit by a car, and years living in shelters and parks; I slept on Greyhound buses between 24-hour races, was ignored by programs that claim to help, endured humiliation and suicidal voices, forgave my past and even the man who hit me, gave away blood money from a legal settlement because my health mattered more than cash, mentored a young boxer to the Olympic trials, woke at 1–5 a.m. for daily yoga and meditation, slowly regained movement in my hand and spine through relentless practice, left Oyotunji when the king’s death and certain energies made me step away, lived three months practicing in a Salvation Army bathroom before choosing the humility and clarity of sleeping on park benches, wear my beads with pride as an orisha priest, and after eight-to-ten years of waiting and holding this testimony inside — today is the day I finally tell it: I refuse to die, I refuse to give up, and I will run another 100 miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment