What follows a marathon PR
October 27th, 2024. The day that felt like the end of a chapter in my life.
The Marine Corps Marathon was a race I signed up for in the Denver airport while my girlfriend and I waited for our flight back to DC. It was after our trip to Aspen, Colorado, for me to complete my first-ever marathon, The Aspen Valley Marathon.
I had been eyeing the Marine Corps Marathon since March when I completed the Marine Corps 17.5K. I had heard of the race before—how amazing the atmosphere was, the number of runners, and the relatively flat course.
As I sat in the airport still feeling the after-effects of my first marathon, I pulled the trigger and signed up. Looking back, as proud as I was of completing my first marathon, I still felt I had more to prove—not to anyone else, but to me.
I hit the wall hard at mile 21 in Aspen Valley, and what followed were scattered efforts of a slow jog and walking. If it wasn’t for a fellow runner who graciously paced me and got me through the final miles, I would have run close to a 5-hour marathon.
I ended up finishing in 4 hours and 12 minutes, missing my goal by almost 30 minutes. I was happy I finished, but I wasn’t happy with how I finished. It hurt to miss my goal, but it built some confidence in my ability to complete the marathon. I knew I could do it.
What followed was diving straight into another 14-week marathon build. I worked harder than I ever had, trusted the process, and showed up every day to get better.
I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 3 hours and 42 minutes—a 30-minute PR and beating my goal of sub-3:45.
It was an amazing day; everything went to plan, the atmosphere was electric, and I had my support system there with me. I could not have asked for a better end to the 2024 race season.
Almost 6 years ago, a 320-lb college kid took the first step to try and change his life. Looking back, I can still visualize and feel how he felt, and I do my best to never forget it. Years of failing, learning, trying again, and failing again.
But I never stopped. As slow as the progress was (and felt), I moved forward little by little every single day. Fast forward to now, I completed the final goal of going from 320 lbs to a sub-3:45 marathon.
As we improve, the difficulty of the goals we set for ourselves increases. The more we do, the more we realize we can do. Even when we fall short, as I did in my first marathon, that doesn’t mean it was a failure. It means we are one step closer to achieving.
For me, that 4+ hour marathon gave me the confidence that I was capable of achieving my goal of sub-3:45, but I just needed a bit more time to work at it. I wasn’t there yet, but I knew where I needed to be.
The funny thing about goals is that we can work for something for months or even years, and when we finally achieve it, if you're like me, your mind immediately goes to the next goal. The next rung on the ladder we can reach.
As amazing as October 27th was, October 28th came, and everything went back to normal. Life returns to normal. The miles cheered on by hundreds of people returned to the quiet training runs alone.
As we should always take time to be proud of what we’ve accomplished, the goals we set for ourselves, and the work we do to achieve them, it doesn’t mean that we should just coast on what we’ve done in the past.
We can always achieve more; we can always be more. The chapter of 320 lbs to a sub-3:45 marathon has closed. But the next chapter has started. The work has already begun. My next challenge is already on the calendar, and the work continues. I absolutely love it.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. I’ll leave you with this: Our happiest moments are often on the other side of our biggest challenges. You will never feel ready, and that’s okay, but if you can commit to the slow progress, the quiet consistency to show up every day, regardless of how you feel, that quiet consistency will create a person who has the confidence to make the impossible possible.
Have a great week!
GTY
