Have you seen the movie “Stranger than Fiction?” It is a MUST see movie, packed with powerful messages as well as an entertaining plot.

One of the scenes goes something to this effect. Harold Crick (Will Farrell) received a message that his life would be ending soon and sought help from a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman). Hoffman’s character replies, “Go live your life and make it the way you want it. Eat pancakes all day if you like.” Harold responded vehemently, “Who wants to eat pancakes all day?! I want to live!” Hoffman’s reply was a classic, “It is all dependent upon the life being lived and the quality of the pancakes.”

Sometimes, I wonder if running is really worth it compared to pancakes. There is the struggle of rising at 4:30am on a Saturday, only to be greeted by scorching temperatures and 100% humidity. The pounding of seemingly endless miles are at times accompanied by boredom and monotony, as well as snakes and squirrels. Your mind is almost as numb as your feet. Your legs become an amalgamation of pain, stiffness and borderline cramping, and still 10 miles to go. And this is just the middle of training. Then something happens and you are served with a reminder. Yesterday at Downtown Disney was the something.

I happened to be wearing my Disney Goofy Challenge shirt and was thoroughly enjoying the sights with Lisa. Two people at different times, came up to us to talk about our experience of this event. The first was in a funky arts store near the Magic Shop. A young female of 25 or so thought that Goofy was a 5K. “It was if you added 36.2 miles to the event.” The comment brought a mixture of laughter and awareness. She was more stunned that we attempted this event compared to our reaction at finishing it. Somewhere along the way, I began to appreciate the fact that we chose to take on something challenging. It would not have mattered if we finished or not; rather, that we took it on. We wanted adventure and challenge. We wanted an experience of life. A memory. A life lesson. So we chose life over pancakes.

30 minutes later, we struck up a conversation with a family from Celebration, FL. Dad was a runner and Mom reluctantly accompanied him at time, blending running on the roads with running with the kids. Again, the mixture was one of compliments and confusion. How did you do this was replaced with why did you do this. Why would anyone want to “torture” themselves? “It is so difficult.” Same question and same answer. Because life means more than pancakes.

In this age of obesity, diabetes and other preventable illnesses, the majority are choosing pancakes. They taste good. They are easy to make. So what if they have virtually no nutritional value and do little more than numb oneself to themselves. The main reason is that pancakes are easier to create than a life that is exciting, adventurous and worth living to the fullest.

The majority are going this route but not all. Their routines have more value than their dreams. Risk is too much work. Too much fear evoking.

It is a exceptional feeling to see others taking on life, win, lose or draw. They are taking on adventures, be it marathons, cycling events, triathlons and other physical endeavors. The pull of the life they create is far greater than anything else. They will run hard, cycle with passion and swim until the shore is reached. Tired? So what! It’s part of the game. Soreness? It’s just the body letting us know that we are near the finish. They follow dreams because dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.

Looking to improve the quality of life? Take on an adventure. Your life will soon get stranger than fiction.