It's not all about the medal
My Facebook timeline was abuzz with comments from fellow runners in regard to the Singapore Straits Times report of a man who “won” the recent Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM). This man apparently only ran 6km of the full marathon route; having somehow hoodwinked officials and checkpoints, joining the race only towards the end after having rested at a bus-stop and running towards the finish line. His reason for cheating? That he wanted a finisher tee and medal.
Having recently completed my first full marathon at the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2013; I was appalled when I read this story. My disgust was shared by fellow runners, us common people who have day-jobs and yet still try to turn ourselves into athletes to accomplish a distance who, historically, killed the first man who attempted it (see: Pheidippides who ran from the Field of Marathon to Athens, a distance of actually, 40km. The current official marathon distance of 42.195km was only officiated in the 1921’s Olympics1). A marathon is NOT something that should be taken lightly, nor is a 5km run a marathon. The marathon distance is a challenge for not only one’s body, but also one’s mind.
Yet the great thing about a marathon, is it (now) welcomes any person who dared to attempt it. Given, one should train for the race, of course. I personally set this goal to challenge myself- a non-runner, non-athlete, once-obese- person; to achieve something I thought was insurmountable. All I had was determination. A training plan and friends who have completed the distance, who were all generous with their experience and support. And I took 4 months to train, with another 4 months before that to prep my body before I began the training. The idea with every challenge one sets oneself is to overcome it. Work hard and then believe you can.
Running 6km and then collecting the finisher medal and tee is simply, cheating.
To quote Kathrine Switzer “If you’re losing faith in humanity, go watch a marathon.” What this person did was to show the fallible nature of humans, and humanity itself. That human downfall of greed, the need to brag and the need to be seen as accomplished. Without having done all the hard work. Shameful and what a disgrace.
I ran my first 42.195km with a plantar fasciitis injury and still completed the distance. My feet hurts, I had chafing at sensitive locations, I was in pain the week after the run. I came back to KL and no one at work noticed that I had just overcame a challenge so big to me. I, who once never believed that I could even achieve anything because I was a fat girl with no talent. I just quietly went back to work, but with this new fire within me because I KNOW I just did something remarkable. In the end, the finisher’s medal and t-shirt are just accessories; overcoming the distance and believing in oneself- that experience, is priceless.
1The author took these facts from Haruki Murakami’s book “What I talk about when I talk about running.” These facts were only cross-checked with Wikipedia, last accessed December 6th, 2013, 3:21pm.
