Feb 12, 2008
Running—The Sacred Art: Preparing to Practice --- Book Review Press | Views- 969

Running—The Sacred Art: Preparing to Practice by Dr. Warren Kay. 2008. $16.99 paperback. 160 pp. SkyLight Paths (PO Box 237, Sunset Farm Offices, Rte. 4, Woodstock, VT 05091. www.skylightpaths.com)

Thirty years ago, I’m pretty certain this book wouldn’t have interested me. My running then was focused on its physical nature, namely losing weight and competition. Now? Well, I’m very glad that Running—The Sacred Art has come my way.
To be sure, it isn’t for every runner. But I think it is for many of us and, especially, most masters. No doubt, many running readers (or reading runners) will give the same knowing nods and “oh, yeahs” that I did while quickly reading The Sacred Art.
Yes, there’s a definite religious flavor to it, particularly over the final third of the book. That shouldn’t frighten readers. A runner doesn’t have to be devoutly religious to appreciate what can be found here.
In a general sense, to Kay, spirituality is what motivates us to run. Most runners can’t be elites or champions. Many won’t win races or even age-groups, especially as we get older. So, what, then, keeps us running? In part, it’s spirituality.
He likens spirituality in running to the pep talks we received from our coaches before playing our archrivals. It recognizes the individuality of running, that we run “for reasons that are right for [us].” The power to run, day after day, year after year, comes from within.
Although Kay returns again and again to his Christian beliefs, he isn’t intimidating in a theological way. Make no mistake—this book is about running. Spirituality “doesn’t mean that I have visions of Jesus [or] hear voices [or] encounter burning bushes” while running. For the nonreligious person or the increasing number of religious people who don’t identify with traditional religions, Kay defines spirituality as “joy…excitement…beauty, a sense of unity with nature.” It is for the runner “who acknowledges there is more to the world than what we can see, feel, hear, or investigate with science.”
Coincidentally, while I was reading The Sacred Art, I was out for a run at 3:30 AM (don’t ask!). In the clear morning sky, I saw the rising Venus in the east. I’d seen Venus on many occasions, of course, but never rising, never that low in the sky, at least not that I’d noticed. That run, I immediately recognized, was a spiritual moment for me—and thanks to reading The Sacred Art, I identified it and was more appreciative.
Explaining my individual moment and yours, Kay writes, “When you run, you really come into contact with the world around you and with yourself…. You see your environment, the world around you…. You often see other people. And through all of this, you get an opportunity to really see and experience yourself in ways you normally are not able to do.”
The Sacred Art doesn’t just describe spirituality in running. Kay provides tips to enhance it. He suggests keeping a journal of your physical and spiritual running, poses questions to ask yourself, and demonstrates how to establish your running as a sanctuary, where you can be alone with yourself. Your runs can be more than ordinary runs.
Some of the book reinforces what we already know, but it’s good to hear anyway. Just like we aren’t ready to run a marathon after a single day’s training, neither should we “expect a lot to change [spiritually] right away.” Just as every run is not the greatest, not every one will be spiritual.
It’s interesting to see citations from the likes of Roger Bannister, George Sheehan, and Jim Fixx, but also from Robert Bellah, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and C.S. Lewis. Numerous sidebars provide helpful tips and motivation from Katherine Switzer, Alberto Salazar, Amby Burfoot, and others whose names we recognize. Suggestions for further reading are also inviting and include books from Earl Fee and Hal Higdon, about women’s running, and of spirituality, athletic and otherwise.
Kay claims that this is merely an “introduction” to spiritual running, that more can be learned in other places (‘suggestions for further reading”). But quite an introduction it is!

Ron Marinucci can be reached by e-mail at ron_marinucci@comcast.net.