Pass/Fail

Whenever I talk to someone who is considering taking up running, the concern most expressed is that there is some sort of pass/fail. That they won't be able to finish. This seems to go for any distance.

"Wow, a marathon? I can't even run a mile!"

"Wow, a 5k? I can't even run a city block!"

Guess what? There was a time when I couldn't run a mile either. Now, I've run 2 marathons, several half-marathons and an untold number of smaller distance races. And they all start at the same place. Just a series of starts and finishes with water stops in between. No matter the race, it's all about getting to the start line, facing the right direction and connecting the dots 'til you finish.

I don't mean to diminish the process. Distance running isn't easy but, when explaining it to a non-runner, the only words they hear are "twenty-six miles". All at once. Pass/Fail.

The number one response to the statement, " I ran the marathon" is, "Did you finish?" Sensing a trend here? I either finished it or I didn't. Why else would I possibly want to do it again? When I mention this question to other marathoners I get a wide range of snorts and scoffs. "Non-runners, just don't get it" is the general consensus.

What the non-runner seems to be missing is all the little dots in between. Every week, I get stronger in the mid-week workouts. Every weekend, I add on a few miles more than I did the week before. I reach another water stop, connect another dot. Over the next 4 weeks, I'll have two 20 mile training runs. These runs may not both go well but it would never occur to me that I might not finish them. My summer has been spent drawing a connection from the start line in June to the finish line in October. Some of the lines haven't been so smooth. (I'm really gonna miss that toenail, for example.) Some days I feel like I want to shoot myself in the feet.

But I'll finish.

I began this marathon in June and I'll finish it in October. Perhaps I'll meet some of my personal goals on that particular day but, for now, on Saturday morning, I'm knitting another set of dots together. And I'm planning on finishing, if you're curious.

Here's to the 18 miler!