The Marathon is Stronger
By Jon Gilman
The marathon was always something I dismissed as beyond my capabilities. On many occasions, I remember thinking there’s no way I’m physically capable of running 26.2 miles, period.
I had previously run two half-marathons, so I wasn’t a total running novice but still had serious doubts about my ability to complete a full marathon. It just seemed unnecessarily hard and not fun. My wife, who has run seven marathons, would tell me about the intense pain she endured during the last few miles of her marathons and I couldn’t imagine doing the same. Yet, there was a mystery about the marathon that was stuck in my head. Maybe it was just because I work at RunKeeper, but I kept wondering why runners have such a strong bond with the marathon? The curiosity kept building up to the point where I reluctantly resolved to take on the big kahuna in my hometown of Philadelphia. But when the rubber hit the road and I finally signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon last summer, I was scared out of my mind!
“What the hell am I thinking? I’m probably going to get injured during training. What if I can’t actually run 26.2 miles?” All of these doubts were flying through my head and I felt like I had made a big mistake. But I wasn’t going to give up before even starting, so I put my head down and embarked on my 16-week training program.
And don’t let me sugarcoat it; training was really hard, incredibly time consuming, and very often painful. But only in retrospect did I realize that enduring these tough moments during training was totally worth it! On those long runs, I learned to dig deep and push myself further than I ever thought possible. After finishing my 20 miler, I remember having an almost out-of-body experience where I couldn’t believe that I just ran for that long. And sure enough from that point on, the doubts that had previously cluttered my mind faded away. Then in a short few weeks, race day was here. And there’s no doubt I was nervous and anxious at the starting line but I knew deep inside that I could finish the marathon...and I did!
That's the magic of the marathon! Training for something so challenging and all-encompassing provides an incredible source of internal strength and confidence that stretches well beyond anyone’s fitness journey. Completing the marathon taught me to never dismiss challenges as beyond my abilities but rather to believe that anything’s possible with enough grit and hard work.
After learning about the Boston Marathon bombings (I was watching the race a mile away from the finish line), I was really upset that anyone would target such a special event that celebrates incredible personal achievement. Only after seeing our community’s response to the attacks did I realize that those two cowardly terrorists in fact achieved the opposite of what they set out to do. Instead of demeaning the glory of the marathon, they just made it stronger.
Because they gave us runners more inspiration to run. Because they gave us extra strength to push ourselves harder. Because they increased our confidence in what we can achieve as individuals and as a community. Because they lifted our determination to finish what we set out to do–come hell or high water.
In the wake of so much devastation and destruction, it’s hard to glean positives from the tragic events that took place. But I do believe that the marathon and its runners (past, present, and future) are now stronger than ever before, and I am thankful for that.
Jon is the product manager at RunKeeper