Marathon Completed at the Bass Pro Marathon: What is Your Marathon Experience?

[Chett]

This past weekend I fulfilled a promise made to my students and a challenge I set for myself in completing the Bass Pro Marathon. The training was time consuming and physically demanding at times, but worth it as I ran this marathon with more ease than the last one I completed nearly seven years ago. My run time at 4:27 (Four hours and twenty seven minutes) was about 10 minutes slower than the marathon I ran in 2002. But this time I knew my limits and I finished much better than last time. The weather was perfect, the event was well organized, and the other runners were inspiring, and they are who I want to talk about today.

When I arrived at Bass Pro in Springfield, Missouri early on Sunday morning there was a chill in the air. The temperature was about 38 degrees, but the sky was clear and the sun peeking over the horizon promised a beautiful day for a run. Runners had already began warming up, stretching and beginning pre race routines. I walked inside the large entry way to the store to enjoy the last few minutes of heat. As I looked at the masses of people inside there were groups of people with team names on the front of their shirts, who were running in memory of someone. Another group was running for a cure, and there was another small group I noticed running for the American Beef Association! I guess cows need a cause too. A buzz of excitement and anticipation was in the air as people discussed waited for 7:00, the beginning time of the marathon. I overheard people discussing their pre-marathon meals of pasta and carbohydrates. I overheard one lady say she and her husband had tried out the new hot wing shack on the other side of town. A collective groan erupted from those listening, and my guess was this was her first marathon and she would soon learn why her fellow runners were groaning. Complete strangers were mixing with others in mutual conversations about run times, paces, and the marathon route. As the time got closer to 7:00 a.m. the mass of over 500 people, who were running either the marathon, or the half marathon moved outside and gathered near the starting line. Just a few minutes after seven the horn sounded and hundreds of people began the 26.2 mile journey.

The first few miles you could hear constant chatter from runners talking to each other. The pack was thinning out and runners were trying to establish their pace. I met a retired man from Kansas who was running his first half marathon. He said he had been retired for about seven months after working nearly 36 years as a medical researcher in a lab. For him, running has been something to keep him active and challenge him in his retirement. He told me running filled a large void in his day and had become something he looked forward to each day. He worried before he retired that he would be bored and feel a sense of meaninglessness without work, but running had helped make the beginning of his retirement years the best years of his life.

After running several more miles I caught up with a woman who has ran several marathons in the past few years and was preparing to run the Boston Marathon in April. She began running after a friend, who had already ran several marathons, encouraged her to try running to challenge herself and stay motivated after a difficult personal struggle. She said running has become her outlet for frustration and gave her the opportunity she needed to "collect her thoughts." As we wrapped our discussion she picked up her pace and steadily moved ahead of me.

Near the end of the marathon, around the 21 mile point, I caught up with a younger man who appeared to be in his early 20's. He and his brother had trained together for the past three months, but his brother had been sick for the past week and wasn't feeling the best the day of the marathon. He was feeling good enough to run, but was several miles behind. As I spoke with him he continued to move the conversation back to his brother. He was concerned about how well he was doing, and mentioned again that they had planned to run this together to push each other in their first marathon. He wondered if he should slow down and let him catch up, or circle back and try to finish with him. I was moved by his compassion for his brother, but encouraged him to do his best and then if he felt strong enough to go back and finish with his brother.

These are just a few of the people I had a chance to meet as I ran. There were hundreds of others, each with their own story of why they were running a marathon. As I rounded the last corner of the race I closed in on the finish line. I saw my wife and children cheering me on as I ran the last tenth of a mile. I moved closer to them so I could "high five" them and my son took my hand. He began to run with me and the both of us crossed the finish line together. I was happy to be finished.

About 50 minutes after I finished I was preparing to leave and I heard the announcer encouraging the crowd. A lady was nearing the finish line and no one was cheering her on. She did not have the typical marathon build and would be considered by most to be too overweight to take on such a challenge. But she had challenged herself to complete a marathon and was within two tenths of a mile from completing her goal. I listened as the crowd erupted in applause. At that moment every spectator there realized this woman was as deserving of applause as the first finishers of the race, if not more. Her obstacles to reach this point were most likely greater than the top competitors and chances are, her personal victory was sweeter.

I don't write this to say that every person should run a marathon, but I think everyone should have a marathon experience. It doesn't have to be a literal marathon, but at some point in your life you should set a goal that seems difficult to overcome and impossible to others, and then go for it. These experiences aren't meant to get you in better shape physically, they make you stronger mentally. Life will try and knock you around. Sometimes struggles last longer than we would like and the pain seems unbearable. It's nice to have something to look back at and realize that you've overcame seemingly impossible obstacles before and you can do it again.