RACING IS like graduation day. It’s the opportunity to put all your hard work toward giving 100 percent, physically and mentally. Like a lot of runners, I like to train, but I love to race.
Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles, however if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up, things will turn out for the best.
Once you’ve committed yourself to something, pace yourself to the finish line.
But I also realize that winning doesn’t always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself.
Every runner has a specific motivation and inspiration for running a marathon. This year, all 36,000 of us will ‘run together’ to demonstrate the spirit of the marathon. We will still have our individual motivations, but we will be unified under the Boston Strong umbrella.
Simply that “run to win” isn’t about finishing first, but about getting the best out of yourself.
One way the marathon is different from other races is that its lessons often have parallels in the rest of life. The patience needed to master the marathon is a transferable skill. Taking the long view, putting in the unglamorous daily work, finding joy in the process, saving something for the inevitable challenges – these traits have helped me be a better husband, father, brother, and friend.
We runners pride ourselves on our perseverance. We see things through despite pain and fatigue. Usually sticking it out is the right choice – those negative feelings are almost always temporary sensations along the road to meeting our goals. Getting past those bad patches makes our accomplishments that much sweeter.
More than any other event, the marathon is about tenacity, durability, and trying daily to get the best out of yourself.