Marathon motivation: Running against yourself, running with others

I’ve always wanted to run a marathon.

It sounds like a foolhardy endeavor. I could just as well say that I want to walk over hot coals or lie on a bed of nails. At least those experiences are over in seconds.

I’ve tried and failed at this before. I’ve trained, only to have some life event get in the way. I’ve signed up for a race and started, only to drop out at 13 miles because I didn’t train enough and my body was absolutely unwilling to continue.

I could have easily taken all of those failures as cosmic signs that 26.2 miles of running just isn’t for me, and frankly, five months ago I was pretty content to settle on the fact that a marathon was not going to get checked off the bucket list.

But you know what they say about insanity: It’s doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

My experience as a runner started in 2006. I wanted to get in better shape, so I started running. Maybe lose a few pounds, feel better about myself, etc. I’ve been an on-again/off-again runner ever since. The only thing that stayed consistent during that time is that running was always a solo activity. I wear hearing aids, and hearing aids don’t mix well with sweat, so running has been something I’ve done in the (very) quiet confines of lonesome bike paths and sidewalks. Who wants to run alongside someone who is constantly asking “What!?” to everything you say to them? Frankly, it’s exhausting to try and hear someone talking to me while running.

But then I became a Local Joe. An ambassador for the Prairie Fire Marathon, if you will. It’s a long story, and I’ll spare you, but it forced me to do something different. It forced me to run with other people, whether I wanted to or not.

And if I can cross the finish line Sunday, It’s going to be because to those people.

Accountability was the thing I was always lacking in my previous attempts at a marathon. People counting on me as much as I was counting on them. A person to run alongside when I was hurting. Someone that has the very same goal I do.

There are two groups, and I would be remiss not to mention them both.

First are my fellow Local Joes. There are 10 of us and we all come from different walks of life, but share a similar goal: To run and finish either a half or full marathon.

There’s Julie Rogers, who’s lost 100 pounds and two years ago probably couldn’t run 10 feet.

Dan Loving will tell you he could stand to lose 100 pounds, but is running 13 miles anyway.

There’s Mean Dean Rhein, who’s been running from the demons that come with being a combat veteran in Iraq.

Justin Murphy, who like me, is trying to absolve a failed marathon attempt.

Ashley Stevenson and Sarah Kueser could probably run another marathon as soon as they’re done with this one.

Brian Hargrove, Angi Webster and Rachel Skytta are all going for 13 miles as well. And all for different reasons.

The process of getting to know this amazing group of people has been, without a doubt, the most fulfilling part of this whole experience.

The second group is my running family from the Fleet Feet Sports Start2Finish training program. I’ve spent a lot of Saturday mornings before dawn, running alongside these people while they foolishly try and have conversations with me. Many times, they’ve pulled me through some really long distances.

If you ever aspire to do this, and I think everyone should, the Fleet Feet training programs are amazing and I promise you they will get you across the finish line. This is not a gathering of elite runners. It’s a gathering of people like you and me. People who want to do something they’re not sure they can.

I don’t know how it’s going to go on Sunday. I could fail miserably. But I have a secret weapon this time that I never had in previous races.

Friendships.

Let’s do this.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Marathon motivation: Running against yourself, running with others."