Why Run a Marathon?

Why do people run marathons? I have recently been asking myself this a little more than usual, since I am trying to achieve that 26.2 mile distance in one run. I checked out the book Ultramarathon Man by ultra-distance runner Dean Karnazes, which did shed some light on this question. But I had regarded Karnazes as a special case, something of a running fanatic/extremist. So I began to explore some runners' blogs to try to get a feel for their motivations.

I didn't access blogs of runners who were actually world-class marathon runners, the kind you usually see on the news breaking the tape at the finish line grimacing with their arms up in the air. No, my interest was in the overwhelming majority of marathon race entrants who are basically either running for personal records or to see if they can even complete the course. These are the runners that I identify myself with. And I noticed some generally common themes to how they recount their marathon race experiences.

For one, they seem to enjoy some social support and encouragement for their endeavor, both from family and friends. People around them express an active interest in their activity. If they have traveled to run in the event from a distant place, then the previous day's ritual of race packet pickup and hotel stay and dinner seems to be meaningful, as some runners touch base with each other that way. Also coming into play is the semantic connotation that gives the word "marathon" a psychological advantage over "half-marathon", implying that marathon runners are somehow doing a complete job while half-marathoners are only running a "partial" race (which is why I think they should call half-marathons something besides what it is called). But the most telling factor for me was in the pretty consistent accounts of what happened to runners when they got to around the 20-mile mark in their races.

A marathon run, above all else, is an ENDURANCE race. The overwhelming emphasis is on finishing it while maintaining an "honest" pace (former Van Halen front man David Lee Roth has been derided for once "completing" the New York Marathon in well over six and a half hours). It seems that, even with the most seasoned of runners, reaching the last six miles or so imposes a crisis of endurance, both mental and physical, that causes them to often have to slow down to a walk or even consider dropping out. Staying in and completing the race under these excruciating conditions can be exhilarating and addictive. And it's this element that I feel keeps those runners coming back for more punishment in race after race. I don't think that the squigglefrubink (my arbitrary replacement term for the half-marathon) is long enough to cause this endurance crisis (although it IS a pretty damned long run).

So, yeah, I want to experience all of that inner turmoil and triumph like the other fools who run in marathons. I would prefer to accomplish this sometime in a sanctioned race in an interesting city where I could gawk at the sights (with the traffic stopped for me). But even if it's just around my neighborhood, it would be quite an accomplishment of endurance. I'm continuing to plug away at it!