What I Learned From Running My First Marathon

This past October, I ran my first marathon. It was probably the most difficult things that I have ever done. What started for me as a quest to lead a healthier lifestyle, led me to learn how to run well and still enjoy myself. I have always been a huge fan of all types of sports, especially the competitive aspect of them. But the mental and physical challenge of running and especially long-distance running is something that I have truly come to love. Running to me is therapeutic and a great way to relieve the stress of my professional career. Here are some things that I learned from running my first marathon. Perseverance is Not an Option When you run a marathon, you cannot go into it half-heartedly. Perseverance is almost at necessary as running shoes in a marathon. Running a marathon will take a significant amount of mental and physical energy and in order to succeed, I found that it was essential to maintain an attitude of perseverance. That principle is not just applicable to running but all of life. If we approach life with a consistent attitude of perseverance, we are more likely to succeed at anything that we put our mind to. The Hard Things Are The Most Rewarding Another thing that I learned from the marathon was that sometimes the hard things that we do become the most rewarding. One might think that I am crazy for wanting to run 26.2 miles but the sense of accomplishment and pride that you feel when you complete the monumental achievement shows just how rewarding it can be. In all of life, we can try to remember that the things we do that are the most difficult are more likely to give us the most satisfaction. You Are More Capable Than You Could Imagine An amazing thing about the human mind and body is that it is capable of much more than you would ever think. And I think that is just highlighted in a race like a marathon. It seems ludicrous that our bodies would be able to withstand the impact and pressure of running for two and a half or three hours straight, but in reality that is just the tip of the iceberg. Our bodies are capable of handling much more than you could imagine and if we give ourselves the opportunity to believe that and put the work in – we will be able to see it.