2nd Marathon: Going The Distance

Throwback to my second marathon in 2018: Going The Distance.

After failing my 4 hour attempt on the first try, I had to do the marathon just one more time. Or so I thought at the time.

Training was horrific. I blew my back out in the spring which pretty much ended me playing American Football.

I was physically able to start running again in July but still found the longer runs tough to build stamina and stay motivated.

On the day of the marathon I was blessed with the support I had at different stages of the race to help get me through it. I’m not sure I would have finished the race without the support I got that day.

4 hours was still the goal but as I got to the 26km marker, my pace started decline to below 5:40k pace needed for the 4 hour marathon.

I had built up some spare time before this but the run was taking its toll on the body. When I got to the last hill, at the UCD flyover, it got much worse. I felt the hamstring weaken as I took a massive 6 inch step up on a kerb and the calf on the other leg soon followed.

I knew the 4 hour goal was dead but I told myself, just finish. I hadn’t stopped running yet, I knew if I did now, I would seize up and not finish.

The pain, as you can probably tell in this video, was horrible as I crossed the finish line. Unlike the previous year, the feeling of finishing was overwhelming. An official time of 4:10 wasn’t quite the 4 hours goal but the feeling of the support I got to finish from friends and family during and after the race, along with being able to say I ran from start to finish was more than enough on that day!

The pain was too much, though. I struggled to walk once I had stopped and my back was at me. The mental feeling of completing the task was great but I’ll never run another one again, I said that day.

A few days later, in my boot camp, one of the ladies asked about the marathon. When I said I was delighted it how it went despite not hitting my overall goal, she asked was that it then?

When I couldn’t answer ‘yes’, I knew there had to be at least one more round...