Winners never quit, quitters never win—Alex Chu does neither

Alex Chu (12A) hates running. You could even say, with a fiery passion. That being said, on September 18, 2019, he ran a 20K.

“The funny thing is, I was under the impression that the day before, I had managed to finish the 17K and that was a rough estimate,” Alex explained. “But it turned out to be around 14, 15K and that really pissed me off… so I was determined to do the 20K that day because of that”.

He originally joined track simply because he knew it would be good for him—it would keep him healthy and give him the credits he needed to graduate. He doesn’t excel at running, often finishes “dead last” at track meets, and words of encouragement from others when he runs feel demeaning and embarrassing.

“I remember specifically there was this one time, I was nearing the end of the race and someone in the stands shouted, ‘hey you can do it!’ but I yelled back, ‘no, I probably can’t’,” Alex said. “It’s like they’re faking the same level of enthusiasm they would for the star runner. It feels very fake, and I don’t like it.”

Funnily enough, instead of simply giving up, he trains for a minimum of 30 minutes each day—the time it takes for him to run a 5K. His spite and hatred for the sport are what keep him going.

“Spite is a great motivator,” he said, laughing. “You just think about the people who are better than you, and then you just feel that rage burn inside of you, and you let that fuel your actions. If you hate the thing, that’s even better because that just fuels your motivation”.

The interesting thing is, Alex runs also because he ensures that it’s a necessity. Though many would call it willpower or determination, Alex doesn’t see his commitment to running as that.

“The reason I run outside of school as opposed to inside is that if I run on the track, if I were to stop at some point, I could easily get back to the locker area. But if I run on the outside, it’s really inconvenient to have to walk all the way back, so it forces me to keep running,” Alex explains with a shrug.

“It’s not willpower, it’s just that I’m forcing myself to be in the situation. It’s like if you were to do your laundry every week on a specific day, that sounds good. But if you’re ensuring that that is your only option, like if you don’t have any other clothes in your closet except those clothes, that forces you to do the laundry on that particular day. That’s not willpower or organization, that’s just necessity. You’re forcing yourself to do something out of necessity.”

How many times have you given up on something simply because you disliked it, or weren’t good at it? Pride gets in the way of a lot of things. Every step Alex takes in a run is something he describes as “pure agony”, but it’s not a matter of giving up for him, nor is it a matter of being the best—he runs for himself. In fact, his ultimate goal is to run a marathon. Shark Scholar challenges you to do something you hate every day, whether it be exercising, public speaking, or trying your hand at something you know you’re awful at. Embarrass yourself. Who knows, it might be good for you.

Featured Image— Alex attempting to outrun his depression Courtesy of Jessie Wu

By Jessie Wu