A True Story About Bruce Lee Running With A Friend

By chris • December 11, 2014

Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We'd run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile.

So this morning he said to me, "We're going to go five."

I said, "Bruce, I can't go five. I'm a hell of a lot older than you are, and I can't do five."

He said, "When we get to three, we'll shift gears and it's only two more and you'll do it."

I said "Okay, hell, I'll go for it."

So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I'm okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I'm tired, my heart's pounding, I can't go any more and so I say to him, "Bruce if I run any more," - and we're still running - "if I run any more I'm liable to have a heart attack and die."

He said, "Then die."

It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it.

I said, "You know, why did you say that?"

He said, "Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level."

PREVIOUS STORY NEXT STORY SHARE YOUR STORY

feel good videoDogs Are Forced To Wear The Things They Steal — And It’s Hilarious

feel good storiesA Child Wrote to a Toy Company Asking Why They Didn't Have an Aardvark. Months Later, They Sent Him One Named After Him

feel good storiesA Baby Pygmy Hippo Was Just Born at Toronto Zoo!

feel good storiesKitties for Sale: How to Choose a Healthy, Happy Kitten

feel good stories25 Unforgettable Things to Do in Chicago

feel good videoThese Tiny Therapy Ponies Are Bringing Joy To Seniors

feel good videoCat Joins Street Performers And Sings The Song's Lyrics Perfectly

feel good videoShe Befriended Her 86-Year-Old Neighbor. Now, They're Family

feel good videoSea Lion Sneaks on Boat, Finds a Bed and Takes a Nap

feel good videoHe Saw an Elderly Woman in Trouble And Stopped to Help