Being a distance runner, I can relate to the analogy. Sprinting will do you no good if you've got a long way to run. If you ever watch a marathon race, you'll see quite often someone way out in front early on, but they often end up getting passed. The winner is often the one who runs a steady pace. In this song though, he doesn't seem to be concerned with winning the race. He just wants to run his own pace (i.e. do his own thing) and not worry about the competition. Kind of reminds me a bit of Boston's "Peace of Mind" - "I understand about indecision, I don't care if I get behind, people living in competition, all I want is to have my peace of mind."
Being a distance runner, I can relate to the analogy. Sprinting will do you no good if you've got a long way to run. If you ever watch a marathon race, you'll see quite often someone way out in front early on, but they often end up getting passed. The winner is often the one who runs a steady pace. In this song though, he doesn't seem to be concerned with winning the race. He just wants to run his own pace (i.e. do his own thing) and not worry about the competition. Kind of reminds me a bit of Boston's "Peace of Mind" - "I understand about indecision, I don't care if I get behind, people living in competition, all I want is to have my peace of mind."