Marathon

"Whether you think you can, or you can't, you're probably right" 

- Henry Ford

You probably know the story of the first famous long distance runner who delivered a message of battle success against the Persians, and raced from Marathon to Athens, running all 26miles / 42kilometers.   And then promptly died on the spot. Happily mortality rates from marathons have dramatically improved since then, but they are still held as a true test of fitness and stamina.

My own first marathon is in a week, and I'm finding that Mr. Ford's observation rings true. While it's a run, the reality of the effort is that it'll be done mostly between my ears. Running a marathon will take somewhere between 3.5 and 5 hours  - I'm not Kenyan - and in that time there will be emotional highs and lows. Dealing with fatigue, various types of pain and watching others both pass me, and crumble by the road-side will be a fascinating experience.  Having done a number of half marathons, I expect it to be a larger, more evocative day, but not new.

You see in many ways, the marathon is going to be an anti-climax to the whole effort that began months ago when a coupe of us elected to try for the marathon.  A structured four month preparation program began then, and it was undertaken because none of us underestimated what this would take. We've run long, we ran in high heat, we ran in the rain.  We ran and ran and ran, and then ran again the next day.  Long slow practices had us go well north of 30kms, and there was a long time period when every run was a new personal distance record.  It got to the point when doing 'only' a half marathon felt like an easy day.  Distance blends, and you share in each other's resolve and challenges alike.  I know I've run close to 600kms since May, so in that sense, another 42 ought to be easy.  Or maybe not.

Whichever way next week goes, I'll know I can do it, I know that I'm able to do it.  Because regardless what happens in the spandex and nike-clad throngs that will fill the race course next week, I did it on empty back roads over the course of this long summer, when the motivation didn't come in the form of timing chips, finishing medals and cheering crowds - it came from within and knowledge that the commitment to do hard things is really all it takes.