It's a marathon not a sprint

It’s the eve of the London marathon, the day when I feel justified lazing around, drinking lots of water perhaps going for a short walk after lunch. Up to now it’s been extremely challenging fitting in the long runs on a Saturday morning. I remember one such morning in February going out in the dark running along the river between Windsor and Eton with the mist rising off the water wondering what on earth I am trying to achieve. Immediately my mind would take me to race day when if you’ve been able to commit to a good training programme and all has gone well you can find out what you are capable of.  We often say that the biggest challenge is getting to the starting line, because we all know what it takes to get there.  It would be easy to give up drop out in the face of the many challenges, but persistence, perseverance and the desire to stretch ourselves for a cause dear to our hearts all plays a part in the final outcome.  

I met up with an old friend yesterday, and although we have kept in touch by telephone and facebook, we’ve not seen each other since 2004. A lot has happened in that time and as we caught up I realised how reliant human beings are on each other. She is an Oncologist (blood specialist) and I enjoyed exchanging experiences and drew on her wisdom and insight dealing with difficult situations, which we all face from time to time.  One of the things we shared was the need to be open and committed to hold fast to our Christian values especially when the alternative could be to walk away and pretend all is well.

I found it helpful to have the support of other runners, because even though we compete everyone is willing to exchange ideas with an openness that include giving and sharing advice and tips to improve performance. I think it’s quite obvious that anyone unwilling to buy into this level of openness quite quickly fall away. I run for health, fitness, stress relief, and pure enjoyment. When I have a bad day or am really stressed out about something, putting on my running shoes allows me to clear my head and de-stress. I do some of my best thinking and come up with some of my best ideas when I am running.

So tomorrow when we line up for the biggest challenge we will face as runners it’s the mental agility and the ability to believe in ourselves and what we are capable of achieving that will make a difference. For me, running is so much more about the journey rather than the end result, much like the christian journey is a marathon not a sprint. I have learned so much about myself good, bad, and otherwise through training. I’ve realised training is truly the accomplishment because you never know what is going to happen on race day. Which is why the eve of a marathon means so much to me, it’s time for quiet reflection which I find humbling.

 I would say to anyone starting out forget about times, races, gadgets, training plans, or the other “stuff.” First and first most run because you love it and you will find out a lot about yourself that will not just surprise you but strengthen you to achieve much more than you ever thought possible.