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When I was 26, I ran the New York marathon. My training consisted of solo runs and no training plan. It wasn’t a pretty race, but I finished it.
 
After a good 12 year running break, like others at the start of COVID, I dusted off the running shoes. I joined a running club, did the hard training kms and quit running in my head at least 10 times a week.
 
When I was training for New York Marathon, naively, I never questioned that I could finish. I ran solo, I made up my own training, I ignored all advice. When you are young – there can be a “nothing can hurt me, nothing is too hard mentality”. I can’t quite put my finger when that mentality disappeared.
 
So, 14 years after New York, I ran another marathon. Then I ran 3 more. 

In this marathon, there was hills, wind and random foot pain that developed at the 8km mark... until the 42km mark. 

But I ran it. And I’ll do another. 

I dare you to train for a marathon and it not change you. It’s not the actual marathon that changes you. It’s the training. And that training is what taught me most. 

What I learnt, is that this life of ours that we lead - it’s a marathon. It’s long. It’s hard. There will be times when you are cruising along happy.  Then there will be hills around a corner you don’t expect. 

Like a marathon, you need a village around you to get to the finish line. There will be people around you putting your shoes back on, or running the extra kms with when the hills are too hard. This marathon journey has taught me that in life, you must surround yourself with people that fill up your cup. That help you over that finish line. 

The lesson I learnt is, you just need to get out that door, with a village around you. Pull on your shoes. And keep going. In a years time - you look how far you have run - and all of a sudden the blisters are gone, the heel pain has vanished and you will smile.

After all that training, you will be different. And you chose to make that difference. You can’t change yourself without putting in the hard kms. You can’t be the person you want to be without climbing those hills. 

So do it. Pick a goal. Make it happen. The finish line will always be amazing. But when you count the kms to see how you got there - that’s when you see how your life has changed.

Find your own Marathon.  I dare you.