Late last week, a story of Swedish distance runner Mikael Ekvall made the rounds on the internet once again. It’s not a news story because it happened years ago, and there are only so many times you can tell the same story of a man pooping himself in the middle of the race. The article lauds his ability to shrug off the incident, while simultaneously making disparaging comments of, well, shit happening. That seems to be completely missing the point. (You can read the story we are referring to here).
The real story ought to have been about Ekvall completing the semi-marathon in 1:09:43, placing 21st in that race, despite struggling with what must have been incredible stomach cramps. He proceeded to run the semi-marathon distance in 1:02:28 just last year, setting a national record, and has also represented his country in the European Athletic Championships. Buried in the article is his message to all runners: Don’t Quit.
The article finished off with a pithy “Whatever. It’s up to each of us to receive the poop man’s wisdom in our own way.” Well, this is how we intend to give Ekvall due credit, for being a true source of inspiration. We won’t show a picture of him during “that incident”, because it does no justice to all his other runs. And here’s to reiterate Ekvall’s message:
