It's April. You know what that means. It's time to register for the St. George Marathon. For anyone who lives outside Washington County, Utah registration forms are accepted until the end of the month and then entered into a lottery. Runners are notified the first week of May if they get the opportunity to run/jog/walk/crawl 26.2 miles in the northeast corner of the Mojave Desert next October.
Many have asked the question, why run a marathon? The answer of course varies from person to person. I can only give you insight to my own motivations.
What I run for:
1. Each finisher gets a medal they can proudly hang around their neck, in their home or around their rearview mirror. (I suggest wearing it around your neck the first day as signal to others that you might need help stepping off the curb, walking down the stairs or tying your shoes.)
2. You burn about 3000 calories that morning alone. You can eat just about anything you want for the next few days and still lose weight. The months of training beforehand also increase the amount you can eat. (There is nothing quite like eating your morning cereal with melted ice cream rather than skim milk.)
3. Every registrant gets a snazzy long sleeve high-tech-fabric t-shirt.
4. Running 26 miles in the morning helps me to sit still during the rest of General Conference.
5. The finish line has a party with all-you-can-eat fruit, Blue Bunny ice cream treats, and fresh bread.
6. I run to test and strengthen my will.
Probably more important than what I run FOR is what I run FROM. This is what I run from:
1. Middle age.
2. Mediocrity.
3. Boredom.
4. Laziness.
So what are you running from? Now is your chance. No matter who you are, you are only getting older and slower. Now is the time to try it. You don't have to win the thing. Everyone gets the free fruit at the water stops, the finisher medal at the end, and the t-shirt. Walking at a 4.4 mph pace still gets you in at 6 hours, which is very respectable. Then you can check off "running a marathon before I die" on your list of life goals.
What's holding you back? Is it the fact that Pheidippides, the Greek soldier who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated, ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message collapsed dead from exhaustion?
Modern developments have made marathoning much safer. Today we have Gatorade, Power Gel, and to prevent chaffing, Body Glide. So don't be scared. Send in the registration form, dust off those running shoes, and hit the road running.
Modern developments have made marathoning much safer. Today we have Gatorade, Power Gel, and to prevent chaffing, Body Glide. So don't be scared. Send in the registration form, dust off those running shoes, and hit the road running.
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13 comments:
I used to run marathons, until I realized that's a long way for a banana. These days, things that could actually propel me to run include the following:
1. Bears
2. Moosen
3. Oncoming cars vs. my toddler
4. And too often, the phone
I would like to run away from a little of the softness that has accumulated around my middle. A full marathon intimidates me; Does St. George host a half-marathon?
I really want to do the marathon, but I am a little bit nervous about it. I'm just not sure if I should do it or not.
I definitely want to do the marathon, but can I wear heelys?
The thing about the marathon is you can quit at any time. Just step to the side of the road. A van comes by every so often to cart runners (former runners) to the finish so they can get to their cars or get medical attention if needed.
If the van picks you up, can you still get your shirt and snacks? I think I feel a plan coming on.
I think I'm liking that plan, Michelle.
well, it sounds like fun... wait... actually, no it doesn't.
The way I look at it is...if you run a marathon sure you can say that you have run a marathon... but once you have run a marathon you can never say that you've never run a marathon... and that is much more important to me.
However, I am not against all marathons. If anybody want to have a movie marathon with popcorn and soda... count me in. I can even bring everybody metals who make it through all the movies without falling asleep.
P.S. I run from moosen too. Many much moosen.. in the woodsen, in the woodsen-is-et.
Peer pressure...
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