I stumbled on this “gem” today while I was doing some research to update our website:
You absolutely, positively, do not have to “run like a legend” to run the marathon. It’s garbage attitudes like this one that discourage new runners joining that 5K group, stepping up to a 10K, taking on the half marathon and committing to the marathon.
We all have that voice in our heads that makes us scared to try something new, and running has a doubly high initial fear factor because many of us were conditioned early on that running is hard and we suck at it. Don’t let the doubt voice be replaced by the regret voice.
Running the marathon takes the same thing that running your first 5K does: Commitment. You don’t need to be fast, lean or young. Training for a goal is done in little doses of commitment. A little commitment to get up early today, a little commitment to lace up your shoes, a little commitment to run the miles today. And tomorrow. It just takes following the plan and putting in the work. Day or night; hot or cold; wet or dry; commitment to the training miles is how you conquer your goals.