Most regular people, non-athletes or non runners, are impressed and amazed when they here about training runs and marathons. Now I certainly do not want to diminish the accomplishment of completing a marathon (26.2 miles) but what makes this task so daunting so impressive. Is it the event itself? I think not. I believe what makes a marathon so amazing so superhuman is the lead up to the race. The dedication and follow through the big hope of completing it in the face of the struggle and seemingly impossibility of it. So running a marathon takes courage to believe, to fail, to succeed. It takes fortitude to begin to complete. It takes stamina to run, to continue to run, to run until all you think about is running, and then not running ever. For those who run marathon distances for kicks you can always supplement an ultra something I would love to be able to accomplish and will one day. O.K back on point... The marathon or training is a life changing event because it is just beyond or way beyond what everyday people can do. It calls for more then the casual jog more concentration then speeding through a 5k it takes endurance of the mind of the soul and lastly of the body. Now where is the fool in this? He's here hiding behind all the cheers and bibs (racing numbers). If this life altering event, or events, the years of practicing these big ideas, these daunting tasks, these superhuman feats doesn't change the other 99% of your life (the real reason we strain our brains and push our bodies to their limits) then what do we profit. It becomes about pride about the perks not about the journey the road and the great lesson.Saturday, August 8, 2009
Let's Not Fool Ourselves Marathon Superhumans
Most regular people, non-athletes or non runners, are impressed and amazed when they here about training runs and marathons. Now I certainly do not want to diminish the accomplishment of completing a marathon (26.2 miles) but what makes this task so daunting so impressive. Is it the event itself? I think not. I believe what makes a marathon so amazing so superhuman is the lead up to the race. The dedication and follow through the big hope of completing it in the face of the struggle and seemingly impossibility of it. So running a marathon takes courage to believe, to fail, to succeed. It takes fortitude to begin to complete. It takes stamina to run, to continue to run, to run until all you think about is running, and then not running ever. For those who run marathon distances for kicks you can always supplement an ultra something I would love to be able to accomplish and will one day. O.K back on point... The marathon or training is a life changing event because it is just beyond or way beyond what everyday people can do. It calls for more then the casual jog more concentration then speeding through a 5k it takes endurance of the mind of the soul and lastly of the body. Now where is the fool in this? He's here hiding behind all the cheers and bibs (racing numbers). If this life altering event, or events, the years of practicing these big ideas, these daunting tasks, these superhuman feats doesn't change the other 99% of your life (the real reason we strain our brains and push our bodies to their limits) then what do we profit. It becomes about pride about the perks not about the journey the road and the great lesson.
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2 comments:
Definitely the skills needed to train for a marathon spill over into everyday life! I am much more dedicated to small things, like flossing every night, after dedicating myself to four months of training! :) What marathon are you training for?
I am not currently training for a specific race and am not registered for one which probably goes without saying. Which are you training for? I am always up for another challenge I just find long runs alone not feasible.
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