Channel Your Inner Honey Badger

By Meredith Rhoades

 

 

 

 

Living your life like a honey badger may sound bizarre, but to Sharon Smith, it means that she is doing exactly what she is meant to do. Sharon is a Mahanoy City native who has recently discovered a love for ultramarathons — which are much longer than traditional marathons and involve challenges such as inclement weather, elevation change or rugged terrain. Sharon channels her inner honey badger every time she steps into her running sneakers.

Right about now, you may be thinking, “Hey, Meredith, what in the world are you talking about, and why are you comparing Sharon to a honey badger?!” Well, it all started a few years ago when a hilarious video of a man doing a voiceover of a honey badger went viral over social media. It may not seem like much, but to Sharon it was both humorous and eye-opening. She now believes being a honey badger is a state of mind. It’s the way to approach your entire life.

Conquer the Obstacles

The honey badger showed Sharon that the only way to get through life, and running, was to face every obstacle thrown at you without being afraid or shying away. You have to conquer the obstacles with strength and grace, then ask, “Is that all you got?” That’s what it means to be a honey badger, to never back down. Sharon has devoted herself to keeping that state of mind and attacking life just as a honey badger would.

Much of Sharon’s life wasn’t spent running. She tried cross country in high school for her freshman year, but hated it. It just wasn’t for her. Little did she know she would eventually fall in love with the sport. She discovered trail running and hasn’t looked back. Now Sharon is in her early 40s and running more than ever.

Respect Nature

As a young girl Sharon’s father would take her on nature walks every Sunday afternoon. They would check out his tree stand, or the spots where he picks mushrooms, or just hike around. He showed her how to identify trees and plants, how you could peel back the bark on small sassafras tree limbs and smell it and taste it, or how the bark from a white birch tree looks like paper. He taught her how to appreciate and respect nature.  It lead to Sharon majoring in Environmental Science in college and fostered a love of the outdoors that she is now passing on to her daughters, Hazel and Lucy. She believes our childhood experiences and environments impact us in so many ways — ways that we may not even realize until later in life.

Ultramarathoning, for Sharon, has opened her eyes to many experiences and even more ways to channel her inner honey badger. Regardless of how you choose to channel yours, always keep in the back of your mind her advice, “Channeling your inner honey badger and facing those obstacles head on is the only way to persevere and thrive. You can’t be weak. You can’t be afraid. You can’t hesitate. You have to recognize the problem or obstacle, problem solve and move on.”