Respect the Distance

Since my life as of late has consisted of running, work, running, eating, running, and sleeping lately, I figured that this post would be about...you guessed it...running. With about a month to go until the NYC Marathon, my life is consumed with training for this marathon. I had said I wasn't going to officially say I was running this 26.2 mile journey until I completed my first 20 mile training run. Well, this past Sunday, I did just that. It was such a relief to check that off my list. After crying on and off for the past week full of anxiety and stress over this run, I was happy to have completed it. And it even went pretty well. It gave me the motivation I needed to finish off these next four weeks. I have one more 20-miler to go and then I can taper down my mileage. November 4 can't come soon enough and as stressed and crazed about this marathon, I am ready for it to be over.

Since most of my friends run, they know challenging it can be. Whether its for weight loss, to stay in shape, or just for fun (who really does that anyway?), we share this hobby in common. Whether they are fast or slow or run high or low mileages, most of them know that running long distances like a marathon is no easy feat. We respect the distance. Most people with any common sense do. However, there happen to be some people that seem so completely clueless about long distance runs and the time and effort that go into training for and running them. These people are just straight up ignorant. And sometimes borderline insulting because of their ignorance. This past weekend after my long run I ran into one of these very people.

I was waiting for the crosstown bus home after my long run. I was stretching and sucking the last bit of liquids out of my fuel belt when a man asked me if I was riding a bike. First hint I knew he was clearly an idiot was the fact that I had no bike near me. I told him I had finished a long run and he asked me why I ran so long. I explained I was training for the marathon and then he went on to ask me if I was going to win the race. I literally laughed out loud in his face. He looked at me like I was the crazy one. Then he asked me again if I was going to win. This fool was serious. I looked at him confused and gave him a definitive no. We had a brief annoying conversation about the marathon and how people like me don't win and professionals do and finally the bus came. Thank god because I was genuinely getting irritated. I turned my headphones back on and went to the back of the bus. He followed me and sat across from me just looking at me like I was nuts. His look said "why would this crazy girl run the race if she isn't going to win?" My stop came and as I got off the bus, he waved at me and yelled "I hope you win the marathon." It was all very bizarre to me.

This man was not insane, but rather totally clueless about marathons. Clearly. Or do some people really think this way? It can't be. But our conversation made me think back to some other questions people ask about the marathon and training. The three most aggravating questions or comments I about the marathon are below.

1) Did you win?  (This is usually after the race and along the lines as the man by the bus.) I hate this question. Hate it. I want to scream at this person "Are you for real?" (They usually are though. Ugh.) 40,000 people run the NYC Marathon and one person wins. And you know what? It's a professional runner.  Like their job is to run. That's all they do. And they get paid mucho dinero to do so. Just like an NBA player is paid to play basketball, these elite runners are paid to run marathons. They are sponsored. They have coaches. The whole shebang. Get it? It's their J-O-B. Casual runners like myself don't come close to winning the race. We know it's not a reality and we aren't trying to cross that finish line first. We are just trying to cross it. Period. I usually finish middle of the pack and I am usually happy with that. The only person I am competing with is myself. And I am dying to beat myself again. Please. Please. Please.

2) Why would run the marathon if you can't win?  Once again, my goal is not to win. I have no legitimate chance to win this thing. Even if my job was to run all day and night I could never win the marathon. I am okay with that. Even my fast-running friends whose speed I am in awe of have no chance to win the whole thing. (Sorry guys.) I run the marathon because I like to challenge myself. I have been a competitive person my entire life. I am just trying to best my previous scores. That's it.

3) I could do that. It's not really a big deal.  Wow. You basically just slapped me in the face with that comment. Do you know how long and hard I trained for this? Even the most elite runners train and train for this. There are very few people in this world that could wake up on a random day and go out and run a marathon. But you think you could do it? Oh, and better than me? Okay, bet. Do your thang. Asshole.

Even before I ran a marathon, I knew what an amazing accomplishment it was and what test it was on the mind and body. I had so much respect for those that ran marathons. Heck, I was envious of those that went out and ran over six miles. Now that I have done a few, I feel proud of myself and anyone that doesn't get it is an idiot. There I said it. And I'll say this again: The distance needs to be respected. The person running the distance has worked hard and that should not be undervalued. A marathon is something that I truly believe that anyone can do with the proper discipline and training. But it does take those two things. And unless you are an Olympian, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, you aren't going to win and you can't just wake up, roll out of bed and run 26.2. And if you are someone who does think that is the case, see you out there November 4. Or maybe not, as you will be blowing past me. Dare ya.