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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why do we run marathons?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a question I\u2019ve asked myself often.<\/p>\n
There comes a point in every marathon, usually around km 30 when I start to ask myself why I\u2019m here, doing this to myself. \u00a0At km 36 start promising myself that I\u2019ll never do this again. Its hard work, its not fun, why would anyone do this to themselves, and no way, not ever again, will I do another one of these.
\nSo far I\u2019ve run 2 marathons, and 11 halfs.
\nAre we just gluttons for punishment? \u00a0 Or are we just plain crazy? \u00a0People who don\u2019t run, or have never run the 42.2 k monster, don\u2019t get it. \u00a0Before I ran one myself, it wasn\u2019t so much that I didn\u2019t get it, but it was more that I didn\u2019t think I would ever be able to run that far. \u00a0I didn\u2019t think I was physically strong enough. \u00a0At the time, I didn\u2019t understand that physically it\u2019s simply a matter of training and building up to a certain endurance level.<\/p>\n
But I also know that it\u2019s much, much more than that. \u00a0In fact, I would say that running a marathon is actually more mental than physical. \u00a0For me personally, it\u2019s about 99% mental.
\nIt takes a certain type of person to run marathons. We are obsessed people who read everything we can about running and improving, and we\u2019re tough. \u00a0We do what it takes, and not crossing the finish line is never an option.<\/p>\n
Karen Armstrong, a historian, has\u00a0the\u00a0following\u00a0theory\u00a0 The mythology of the hero most probably began in the paleolithic age, and was part of the Indian subconscious from time immemorial. Rama, Krishna and Arjuna. All seemingly ordinary people, put in an extraordinary situation. All cultures have developed a similar mythology about the heroic quest. \u00a0The hero feels that there is something missing in his own life. So he leaves home and endures death-defying adventures. \u00a0He fights monsters, climbs inaccessible mountains, traverses dark forests and, in the process, dies to his old self, and gains a new insight or skill, which he brings back to his people. They rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n
When people told these stories about the heroes of their lands, they were not simply hoping to entertain their listeners. \u00a0The myth tells us what we have to do if we want to become a fully human person. \u00a0Every single one of us has to be a hero at some time in our lives.<\/p>\n
There are parallels of a hero\u2019s journey and running a marathon. You cannot be a hero unless you are prepared to give up everything; there is no ascent to the heights without a prior descent into darkness, no new life without some form of death. \u00a0Throughout our lives, we all find ourselves in situations in which we come face to face with the unknown and the myth of the hero shows us how we should behave.<\/p>\n
This is where the entire idea of running a marathon as a hero\u2019s journey comes together for me. \u00a0Even when we train for 4 months and do a couple of 30\u00a0km runs, we don\u2019t really know what lies ahead when we stand at the start line of our first marathon. \u00a0We\u2019re embarking on a road we\u2019ve never travelled before. \u00a0There\u2019s the reason people say \u201cThe race begins at 32\u00a0km \u201c.<\/p>\n
For most runners, going beyond your previous longest distance is uncharted territory, your very own personal \u201cdescent into darkness.\u201d \u00a0Even if you\u2019re running your 5th marathon, something happens to body and mind around the 34\u00a0km mark that pushes you into a place you don\u2019t often visit.<\/p>\n
But when you persevere, when you go beyond the parameters of your old expectations and abilities, when you cross that finish line, you truly do die to your old self. \u00a0The person who wears the medal at the finish line is not the same person who stood nervously at the start line. \u00a0Sure, afterwards, life goes on, you go back to work in a few days, but you\u2019ve changed. \u00a0You\u2019ve learned something about yourself that can only be experienced by going farther than you\u2019ve ever gone.
\nThis journey is nothing less than the adventure of the hero\u2013the adventure of being alive.
\nIt\u2019s a journey of your own making, and the only person you can trust to reach the end is yourself . \u00a0You have to trust that everything you\u2019ve taught yourself up to that point is going to work, and that everything you rely on will do its job successfully: \u00a0your legs, your mind, your strength, your endurance, your focus, your spirit, and your belief in yourself. \u00a0When it all comes together, when you finish the race, no matter what metaphorical monsters, inaccessible mountains, or dark forests you had to travel through, or all the years of being nonathletic, unmotivated, lazy, or whatever shadow chases you, no matter how long it took you to get there, you become a hero to yourself.<\/p>\n
SCMM 2013- 4 hours 33 mins.<\/p>\n
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