Life, 5Ks, Marathons and Ultra Marathons

As it turns out life is a lot like the 5K, Marathon and UltraMarathon, in fact Life is the ultimate ultramarathon.

You cannot succeed without the ultimate support crew, friends and family, who often work harder than you do, with one goal in mind, to unconditionally support and help you.

The preparation, the persistence, perseverance. The relentless forward progress.

Some people are born with it, most of us have to work really hard at it. Hard work outlast talent. The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.

The anticipation of the start, the excitement in your stomach, the fear that almost paralyzes you as you toe the start line, you want to turn back, but no you can’t, you have prepared for this, you know what you have to do, oh the excitement. The spirit of friends and total strangers coming together with a common bond, a common goal, to get to the finish line, in one piece.

Sometimes it’s a sprint, sometimes a long and beautiful road, other times its brutal and painful. Run, walk, crawl, just keep moving, and smile, but, then again, there are those times when you just need to lay down where you are and take a nap.

There will always be someone with fancier running shoes, a nicer watch, better gear, who cares, you are perfectly fine with what you have and that’s all you need.

On any given day, there will always be someone faster, someone stronger, someone who looks better, you will always feel like you are chasing someone or something, and someone will always be chasing you. In the end, its just you and the clock. Time, it is what you chose to do with your time that matters.

Someone in the past has mapped the course for you, shown you the way, but, sometimes you just got to take your own path. There will be support along the way, total strangers at aid stations to support you with food, water and a hearty cheer. All along the course there will be familiar and unfamiliar faces cheering wildly, shouting encouragement, for you, then again, you will encounter some jackass or jerks along the way, that’s their problem, be better than them because you are. You can never control what other people do, but, you can control what you do.

There is the joy, energy, enthusiasm, spirit and vigor at the start that will inevitably fade, then wax and wane, as the miles pile up, and you wonder why you are doing this, how hard it is, I paid money for this? Then again, sometimes, as Winston Churchill put it, “you just got to bugger on”.

Sometimes you wonder what you are running from, other times what you are running to.

There are the hills, mountains, flat roads, down hills and the valleys, the roller coaster of life, hang on and just keep making relentless forward progress. Slow and steady. The highs are never as high as they seem or look, what goes up must come down, and the lows are never as bad as your mind imagines them to be, and you always come back up, just hang on and enjoy the ride.

When you look up the mountains may seem daunting, or the task at hand may sound insurmountable, but, then you look inside yourself, put one foot in front of the other and you find your space, your flow, mojo, you got your ying and your yang. Unstoppable.

Your mind and body are capable of anything, and so much more than you could possibly think possible, you are only limited by self-doubt, or you let other people’s perceived limitations hold you back. Just because someone else thinks they cannot succeed does not mean you can’t. Sometimes you just got to put one foot in front of the other and set out, put the pen to paper, stand up and give the opening, get your flow and keep rolling and rolling, beyond anything once thought possible.

It will get hot, damn hot, plan well and drink your water. You will come upon someone struggling, you need your water, but they need it more than you do, and you, of course will give your water bottle to them and help them along to the next aid station, because it’s the right thing to do. Then out of nowhere, that same person will come flying up to you in the middle of the night with life’s “second or third wind” and you will smile, be happy for them and happy to have helped along the way. What comes around goes around.

Sometimes they let horses in the race. Humans and animals together. The horse will clomp up behind you on a hill while you are eating pringles, so you share your pringles, and while you and this “animal” don’t share the same language as you look into their eyes, you see gratitude, and you know you have a friend for life, even though you will never see each other again.

There will be times were you just got to step off the trial dig a hole, grab some leaves and take care of business, then bury your troubles, that’s life, sh&% happens, take care of it and move on.

Maybe everything will go according to plan, then again, we all know what usually happens with the best laid plans. As Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.”  The weather, coronavirus, blisters, upset stomach, or you just have a bad day, adapt, improvise, change it up, bugger on, survive and thrive, but, never, never, never, never give up.

The sun may shine, it may be pouring rain, the wind in your face or at your back, take each step and day as it comes and find its joy. The risk of doing something in the moment.

A mile may seem like a long way away, or just around the corner. Its all a matter of perspective.

There will be times where you feel on top of the world and a 5K sounds like a piece of cake, then again, maybe you are recovering from that latest injury or setback and you are ecstatic to make it to mile one, or you look over and you see the will power and determination of someone recovering from cancer finishing right there beside you and you are overwhelmed with joy for them and awestruck with their determination and grit. Find your inspiration, be someone else’s inspiration.

A total stranger will see your hurting and are in need and they will help. No questions asked, wanting nothing in return, just offering help and support. Success through sharing.

You may take the wrong path and get lost and miss qualifying for the Boston Marathon by ten seconds. Then some forces of evil place bombs near the finish line causing many, many people terrible and horrible loss and pain, but from that loss and pain rises strength and hope. Strong on! Someone or something is watching over you.

You will have your successes, but, remember what got you there, because success is not guaranteed the next time.

Sometimes you just need to go it alone, fly solo for a while, other times you will want a companion, someone to confide in, or a whole group to carry you along. To listen to your troubles, but mostly you will need to really, really listen to others.

You may lose your training partner, or training buddies along the way, but, you must carry on, that is what they would have wanted and what you would want them to do for you.

Then there is the approach to the finish and the finish.  There will be times where the crowds and cheering are deafeningly loud, then there will be times where its just you and the finish line.  Finish the job, finish what you started. Sometimes you just won’t be able to “finish the job” or you “lose the trial”. There is no such thing as failure because you learn from the journey are better off for taking it, and you get back up, dust yourself off, and step up to the next start line. Refuse to give yourself permission to be defeated.

Even when you finish and the fanfare is over, there is the what’s next? What are you going to do now? How are you going to top this? Take time to enjoy and savor the moment, you deserve it, you earned it. Find the joy and grace in the moment.