--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eventually, competition and adventure…" description: "\"Eventually, competition and adventure wane, and I enter my ibuprofen phase. Tweaky hamstrings and achy knees restrict mileage, but I continue running f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/don-kardong-15282_adventure_eventually-competition-and-adventure-wan_3067896.jpg" --- # Eventually, competition and adventure wane, and I enter my… ![“Eventually, competition and adventure wane, and I enter my ibuprofen phase. Tweaky hamstrings and achy knees restrict mileage, but I continue running for health, sanity, and the ritual of a Sunday trail run with like-minded buddies. We discuss the nagging injuries that bedevil us, and remember the…” quote by Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/don-kardong-15282_adventure_eventually-competition-and-adventure-wan_3067896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/don-kardong-15282_adventure_eventually-competition-and-adventure-wan_3067896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/don-kardong-15282_adventure_eventually-competition-and-adventure-wan_3067896.jpg) > “Eventually, competition and adventure wane, and I enter my ibuprofen phase. Tweaky hamstrings and achy knees restrict mileage, but I continue running for health, sanity, and the ritual of a Sunday trail run with like-minded buddies. We discuss the nagging injuries that bedevil us, and remember the good old days when we were kings.” [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging reduces competitive drive, but he runs for health, sanity, and camaraderie. **In simple terms:** Running shifts from competition to wellness and community. Key Takeaway Run for health and connection, not just competition. Themes aging competition health community ritual Mood nostalgic motivational Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - Sunday trail runs - group walks - injury prevention - mindful pacing - story sharing Key Concepts lifelong fitness social bonding injury management Questions to Reflect On - How do you adapt your goals as you age? - What non‑competitive benefits keep you moving? A Different Perspective Physical limits may discourage continued running. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achy Knees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achy-knees-5175477/) [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Buddies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddies/) [Buddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddy/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Continue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continue/) [Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) [Discuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discuss/) [Enter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enter/) [Enter Ibuprofen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enter-ibuprofen-5175478/) [Eventually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eventually/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-days/) [Hamstrings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamstrings/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Ibuprofen Phase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ibuprofen-phase-5175476/) [Injuries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injuries/) [Injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injury/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Knees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knees/) [Mileage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mileage/) [Nagging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nagging/) [Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/) [Phase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phase/) [Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phases/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Restrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restrict/) [Ritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ritual/) [Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/run/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-health-5175475/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) [Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday/) [Trail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trail/) [Trails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trails/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) ## Related quotes > [I played with a left hamstring injury since playing college football at Washington University. I went to doctors all over the country to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-dillon/i-played-with-a-left-hamstring-injury-since-playing-college-football/) [Corey Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-dillon/) > [The worst injury I have ever suffered in the ring was a torn triceps; they had to take a piece of my hamstring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-bautista/the-worst-injury-i-have-ever-suffered-in-the-ring-was-a-torn-triceps/) [Dave Bautista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-bautista/) > [I feel like I envision a lot of hamstrings getting pulled and a lot of bumps and bruises out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-flacco/i-feel-like-i-envision-a-lot-of-hamstrings-getting-pulled-and-a-lot/) [Joe Flacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-flacco/) > [Hopefully Andy Carroll has only tweeted his hamstring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-allardyce/hopefully-andy-carroll-has-only-tweeted-his-hamstring/) [Sam Allardyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-allardyce/) > [Tight hamstrings are fierce. And I'm guilty of not allocating the time that I should to stretch. I'll put the time in for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/tight-hamstrings-are-fierce-and-i-m-guilty-of-not-allocating-the-time/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [My hamstrings are permanently into a state of openness. I could probably fall out of bed into a split and not tear anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katya-zamolodchikova/my-hamstrings-are-permanently-into-a-state-of-openness-i-could/) [Katya Zamolodchikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katya-zamolodchikova/) > [Another over-rated Brazilian... Sort your hamstrings out FatBoy..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-barton/another-over-rated-brazilian-sort-your-hamstrings-out-fatboy/) [Joey Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-barton/) > [I ripped both hamstrings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/i-ripped-both-hamstrings/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [Every club he's been to has had great injury crises. Every club. And it's always hamstrings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-dunphy/every-club-he-s-been-to-has-had-great-injury-crises-every-club-and-it/) [Eamon Dunphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-dunphy/) > [There is no real justification for a requirement that a budget of any sort should be balanced, except as a rallying point for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-vickrey/there-is-no-real-justification-for-a-requirement-that-a-budget-of-any/) [William Vickrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-vickrey/) > [Most problems to do with your thighs, your hamstrings, your calves, come from your back. It's the same for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-woodgate/most-problems-to-do-with-your-thighs-your-hamstrings-your-calves-come/) [Jonathan Woodgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-woodgate/) > [I pulled a hamstring during the New York City Marathon. An hour into the race, I jumped off the couch...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-pulled-a-hamstring-during-the-new-york-city-marathon-an-hour-into/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [For most normal people, deadlifts stretch your hamstrings, but in my case, it tightened them, because I was already very flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-wu/for-most-normal-people-deadlifts-stretch-your-hamstrings-but-in-my/) [Daniel Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-wu/) > [Read non-fiction. History, biology, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology. Get a bodyguard and do fieldwork. Find your inner fish. Don't publish too soon. Not before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/read-non-fiction-history-biology-entomology-mineralogy-paleontology/) [Marlene van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [It's ginned up by the corporate plutocracy as a way of distracting the working-class people that it's screwing. We hamstring our own natural progressivism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/it-s-ginned-up-by-the-corporate-plutocracy-as-a-way-of-distracting/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) ## More by Don Kardong > [Runners like to train 100 miles per week because it's a round number. But I think 88 is a lot rounder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/runners-like-to-train-100-miles-per-week-because-it-s-a-round-number/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/the-toughest-trail-i-ever-ran-was-the-escarpment-in-the-catskills-of/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [Beginning runners come in all shapes, sizes and pre-existing conditions, so there's no magic formula for determining exactly how much basic running is needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/beginning-runners-come-in-all-shapes-sizes-and-pre-existing/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [In those long, lonely miles you put in during the off-season, and in those knife-in-the-gut repetitions and hill repeats that buckly your knees -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/in-those-long-lonely-miles-you-put-in-during-the-off-season-and-in/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [Cold is not without its risks to runners, of course, especially ones who don't head south when winter visits their neighborhood. Even pooh-pooh-ers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/cold-is-not-without-its-risks-to-runners-of-course-especially-ones/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [If an athlete takes a shortcut - literally, for example, by running a street that shortens the marathon route by a quarter mile -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/if-an-athlete-takes-a-shortcut-literally-for-example-by-running-a/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [Fartlek, or speed play, is variable-pace running that emphasizes creativity. During a 30-minute run, choose objects to run to - telephone poles, trees, buildings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/fartlek-or-speed-play-is-variable-pace-running-that-emphasizes/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [Running at night used to frighten me. Part of it was simply safety, the question of whether level ground would truly appear under each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/running-at-night-used-to-frighten-me-part-of-it-was-simply-safety-the/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [A good teammate is someone willing to get outside of personal thoughts and emotions, a friend who tries to understand, appreciate, and encourage other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/a-good-teammate-is-someone-willing-to-get-outside-of-personal/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [We (ultra runners) alternate between depression and stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/we-ultra-runners-alternate-between-depression-and-stupidity/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [You entered a marathon with hills? You idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/you-entered-a-marathon-with-hills-you-idiot/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [When I was in middle school, and teachers lectured about World War II, the conflict seemed impossibly distant and irrelevant. And it had only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/when-i-was-in-middle-school-and-teachers-lectured-about-world-war-ii/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [When I started running, a gadget was a wristwatch with a secondhand on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/when-i-started-running-a-gadget-was-a-wristwatch-with-a-secondhand-on/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want - Why? Because (a) you'll burn all the calories you consume,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/if-you-run-100-miles-a-week-you-can-eat-anything-you-want-why-because/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [For most teenage runners, the right foods means a varied diet, decreasing the amount of fat found in the typical American diet and replacing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/for-most-teenage-runners-the-right-foods-means-a-varied-diet/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) [Explore all 43 Don Kardong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Eventually, competition and adventure wane, and I enter my ibuprofen phase. Tweaky hamstrings and achy knees restrict mileage, but I continue running for health, sanity, and the ritual of a Sunday trail run with like-minded buddies. 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