Around 15k or 16k into the marathon, I yelled out “This is so much fun!” I mainly made the exclamation to myself because I truly was enjoying the rhythm of running with Leslie [Sexton] and Natasha [Wodak]. In response, they both chuckled a bit at me since it was still very early on in the race and my first experience racing the marathon. Natasha responded with “Yeah, it’s fun until it’s not” to remind me that there was much more running to be done. Which is a smart response, since I was far away from the finish and needed to stay relaxed if I wanted to continue “having fun” until the end. But honestly, I was lucky enough to enjoy every single minute of the glorious 42.2k that Sunday morning.
I believe that there is power in your thoughts and actions during a race. Look at World Record Holder Eliud Kipchoge for example. He is always smiling in the middle of a marathon because he loves what he is doing. I want to be that type of runner that appreciates the moment and thinks of gratitude to be out there racing rather than the “pain” I’m pushing through. My best races are the ones where I am appreciating and relishing in the experience. Lucky for me, it was easy to do just that on Sunday thanks to the comradery of working together with Natasha and Leslie and the phenomenal crowds and community out cheering once I was on my own. When you chose to find the positives in a race, you magically run a little faster! So next time in a race, I would challenge everyone to try to find something to smile about or a positive mantra to repeat and maybe a little PB magic will come their way.
