“Whether you’re climbing, running, painting or playing the clarinet, surf when you can and find something else to do when you can’t.” Photo: Shutterstock
A month or so ago, Lakey Peterson ran the Nike Women’s San Francisco Half Marathon – hell yeah Lakey! My mom, who runs professionally, was in San Francisco for the race and had the opportunity to meet Lakey. Of course, she was wildly impressed with Lakey’s character and came home convinced that she was going to set the two of us up. I’m assuming it’s only because she’s been flat-out with other commitments but I’m still waiting to hear from the lovely Ms. Peterson. Anyhow, this is all beside the point. The point is, Lakey Peterson is a professional surfer who also happens to run.
Just to clarify, I am far from being a professional surfer. I love to surf and, by New England standards, I’m not a complete hack. Even so, I often find it embarrassing to tell surfers that I am also a “runner.” Generally, when I tell surfers that I run, the response is along the lines of, “Fuck man! You run?” Sometimes, I guess they’re somehow impressed just because it seems like such a novelty, but for the most part, I get the sense that they’re taking me down a peg or two on their “cool” meters when they learn that I, in fact, like to run. This is unfortunate, and it gets pretty bad. I’ve been lucky enough to go on several surf trips and running is always a bit of a struggle simply because I’m embarrassed that if I get “caught” I will be thought of as some “pussy jogger” and lose respect in the water. Just to avoid any confusion as to why I’m running because, believe me, when you’re running on a surf trip in Nicaragua, you can bet your ass that people will be confused, I usually tell other people at the hostel or campsite that I am rehabbing an injury I got while surfing or snowboarding. I know that sounds pathetic, but in a tragic way, it’s better than telling them that I “just enjoy running.” Obviously, that’s just unacceptable.
I should take a step back here and say that I get that running can be pretty lame: GPS watches, tights, impossibly short shorts with built in nut-huggers, gyms, treadmills, protein supplements…the bullshit is endless. However, from an outsider’s perspective, it’s important to realize that the exact same sweeping generalizations can be made about surfers and surfing: Wavejets, SUPs, GoPros, burnouts, the US Open, etc. I love to surf, but please shoot me before I go out and buy a Wavejet and start motoring around in the lineup. The same goes for running and things like those stupid Ironman tattoos. Not that I’ve ever done an ironman, but hypothetically, if I were to complete one, I would hope that someone would knock some sense into me before I got the M-Dot inked onto my calf.
Obviously, running doesn’t have the aesthetic appeal of something like skateboarding or surfing, but it’s free and it’s healthy and hey, let’s face it: there are a lot of flat days, especially in a place like Maine, so it’s nice to have an alternative means of getting some exercise. As far as I’m concerned, anything beats going to the gym. When you boil it all down, running and surfing are actually fairly similar, selfish pursuits. We all need outlets, and whether yours is in the woods or in the water, it really shouldn’t matter.
I’m not at all suggesting that surfing should turn into some hyper-athletic gig. I love surfers like Creed McTaggart and Ando, who are often pictured ripping cigs and drinking beers in more anti-surfing-as-a-sport type of publications like WHAT YOUTH and Later. To tell you the truth, I could care less if they want to smoke cigarettes. I could also care less if guys like Kolohe and Julian want to jog or skip rope before their heats – at the end of the day, they’re all phenomenal surfers and I can respect and appreciate that.
All I’m saying is that sometimes surfers, including myself, are awfully quick to categorize certain activities as either “cool” or “uncool,” and I think we all might benefit from being a tad bit more open-minded. As long as you’re not being a complete douche about it, I say go out and do whatever you want when you’re not surfing. Not all of us have the luxury of surfing three hundred days a year, so whether you’re climbing, running, painting or playing the clarinet, surf when you can and find something else to do when you can’t.
