Why the marathon...

I would not say I am a "fan" of the television show The Biggest Loser, I am more a fan of the people and what they are able to accomplish. Last Tuesday night the four remaining contestants on the show ventured into my area, The Marathon!

Each of the contestants was now back home struggling with life outside of the ranch when a small round box arrived at their door. Inside contained instructions for the next challenge they would face. It turned out that in 26 days they would be required to do a marathon—26.2 miles! Only one of the four participants knew that 26 days was not normally enough time to adequately train for and complete a marathon. The other three reacted much like others when confronted with the prospect of covering 26.2 miles—shock, excitement, doubt, hope, fear—just to name a few emotions.

Watching this drama unfold on the television reminded me of the hundreds of people I have personally coached and discussed the challenge of running a marathon with over the years. There is a mystique about the marathon. It is the crowning jewel of any runner of any ability level. It is our Everest. But the question that has fascinated me is, “why?” This is what I discovered:

First, the marathon is impossible. Let me explain. There are hundreds of thousands of people each year who complete the distance. If we live in a big city there is a chance we have watched them run past on any given Sunday. If not, we may have been turned into ESPN on Patriot’s Day and watch 40, 000 plus runners journey from Hopkinton to Boston. We see it, but much like a magic trick is to us normal mortals, what we see seems impossible. It's this impossibility and the chance that we can overcome it, that draws us to it. There is a hunger in each of us that causes the person we aspire to be, the person inside of us, what some would call our spirit, to look at the impossible and say, "I can do that!"

Second, the marathon is improbable. With each step we take up a flight of stairs the pain in our knee calls out to us. Each time we find ourselves on the ground playing with our kids and struggle to get back up, groaning the entire way. Each time we find ourselves getting winded with the lightest of exertion. It is during these times we know the human body is not meant to cover 26.2 miles. It just doesn't make sense. We quietly ask ourselves, "Man, if it hurts this much walking or jogging 1 mile, how much will it hurt if I do 26?" Yet, that hunger still exists.

Third, the marathon is impractical. Often our curiosity will get the best of us and we will bashfully ask someone who we know is training for a marathon, “What does it take to run a marathon?” Without missing a beat these good natured runners begin spouting off numbers that send us reeling. They tell us they are running about 50 miles a week, with speed days on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a long run on Saturday that will get up to at least 20 miles. We look down at our watch and see we ran our last mile in 18 minutes. With a couple of quick computations we have just discovered that it would take us 900 minutes to do a 50 mile week or 15 hours. We then realize that is a part-time job! “What will our spouses think?” “What if I fail?” “What if I get hurt?” are questions echoing in our minds. Yet, the hunger persists.

Finally, and most importantly, the marathon is imaginable. One of our strongest features as a human is our ability to dream. We can see ourselves doing anything in an imagined world. The marathon is one of the few vehicles here on Earth that gives us the ability to cross over from the imagined to the tangible. On our one mile runs we can raise our arms in victory when we cross the imaginary finish line at the local park and if we are really in the zone, we can feel it. The moment becomes real. It is that feeling of power, that feeling of victory, that fuels our hunger to want more. Especially when so much of our daily lives make us feel powerless and defeated. The person inside of each of us knows, that if we can experience it in our mind, it is within our power to experience it for real. The only variable is us, are we willing to pay the cost and do the work to make it happen?

Last Tuesday night I stood transfixed before my television set watching four people who, knowing the marathon was impossible, improbable and impractical, made a choice to embrace the imaginable and just go for it. Tears streamed down my face as I celebrated each person crossing the finish line. Some were running, some walking, one was almost sent to the hospital, but no one quit. I saw each of them dig deep within themselves, to push and pull and cry and yell, until the imaginable had no choice but to venture into the world of reality.

My hope for each of you this week is to understand that just because you may feel blanketed by the impossible, the improbable and the impractical, nothing but you can stop the imaginable. See yourself doing what it is you want to do. See yourself being what you want to be. But you can't stop there! You have to take those first steps. With each step, you too will cause the imaginable to venture into the world of reality. When this happens you will be forever changed.

Finish Strong,
Coach Bill