Where the Sidewalk Ends...

Logan Watley is one of the owners of the 605 Running Company in downtown Sioux Falls, SD.  He ran at Lincoln Christian High School in Lincoln, NE where he was a two-time state champion in the 3200m run.  He competed collegiality at D-III Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) in Lincoln, NE and was a three time All-Conference and three time All-Region performer.  On the track, Logan specialized in the 1500/mile, winning five conferences titles.  His personal best in the mile is 4:11.14, and in cross country, his best time for an 8k was 24:51.  Since graduating from NWU, Logan spent some time focusing on the marathon distance, having ran both the Chicago and Boston Marathon, but now prefers to focus on races under 90 minutes.

As part of our desire to help build the running community in Sioux Falls through the 605 Running Company, I thought it would be beneficial to post a regular blog about running, racing and how this ties into our everyday lives.  Although this blog will be regular, the author(s) will most likely change from post to post to give different perspectives.

In this first post, I wanted to introduce the name of our blog, which comes from one of my all-time favorite books as a kid (right up there with Where the Wild Things Are, Harold and the Purple Crayon or Green Eggs and Ham) that I've just re-discovered. I remember my parents reading to me "Jimmy Jet and His TV Set", "For Sale" and "Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out" (among others). Of course at that time I was more interested in the pictures than the stories and their meanings, which is why it is interesting for me now to go back and re-read the poems I had first heard as a kid.

One of my all-time favorites is the namesake for this blog. I'm a runner. I can relate to a sidewalk ending. When I'm running, an ending sidewalk indicates I have to make a choice:  to hop onto the shoulder or across the grass to continue on with my run or to turn around and call it a day. It is an obstacle that I face and a pain in my running routine.  It is an opportunity to better myself or to take the "chicken exit".  It is a gauge for how someone reacts to adversity, and if you run any time or distance (5 minutes up to 30 miles), you are familiar with facing adversity.

I don't think Mr. Silverstein had running in mind when he wrote this little poem. He seems to be talking more about youth and how good it is to be young.  He talks of leaving a world with black smoke and dark, curvy streets to a peaceful, restful place.  For me, running provides this escape, and allows me, for six to eight miles, to live in a place where the sidewalk ends.

Happy Running!


Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

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