A Marathon Short Story: Running for Change

26 miles. Thousands of runners. One finish line. I felt like I wasn’t ready.

It was a 90 something degrees Fahrenheit day, heat scorching my skin. I was sweating my butt off. At the 18th mile mark, I was starting to notice cramps symptoms—things didn't look good for me. Every single step was a battle. My mind started to spew out negative thoughts.

Just stop.

The pain isn’t worth it.

You don’t have to run anymore. You know you want to stop…

Why are you doing this to yourself?

You’re not gonna make it…

It took a lot of effort to ignore those thoughts and push on. A whole lot of effort. I tried to distract my mind and remember the reason that I was running.

Why did I choose to run?

I’m not a runner. In fact, for most of my life, I hated running. I was one of those people who thought marathoners were superhuman and crazy to run for such long distances. I thought it was impossible for me to do a marathon.

“I’d rather jump through flaming hoops to save you from a bullet than to do that.” It was an inside joke among some friends.

All it took was a brother, some unhappiness in life, and a desire for change to convince me. One day, my brother Vu (pronounced voo like in voodoo) had a proposal for me: to do a marathon with him. My reaction? Absoutely, freaking no. An instant rejection. However, my brother was persistent. He had done his first marathon the year prior and loved it. He believed it was an amazing experience and thought that it could help me. I was going through a tough time, struggling through some relationships and hating my desk job (dreading the drudgery of it). I was tired of the same old thing. I wanted something new, a change in my stagnant life. Frankly, I wanted a boost in self-confidence.

It was an opportunity. To prove to myself that I can do something I hated. To follow through and be accountable for my actions. To do what I believed impossible.

I didn’t have anything to lose. After a month of consideration, I called my brother and told him, I’m in.

At the 24th mile mark

Cramps on both legs. Excruciating pain. Heaviness in legs. I wanted to give up. It was just 2 more miles, but it felt like it would take like an eternity to get there. My mind was playing the devil’s advocate, cajoling me to stop, to feel comfort again and to give up. While under all the negative chatter and physical pain, a voice told me to keep on going. It was faint, but it was there. It was thanks to this voice that I passed the finish line.

Crossing the finish line

Seeing the finishing line, I brought my hands up high and ran through. What a surreal feeling! Feelings of awe, happiness, surprise, exhaustion, and relief hit me at once. Never did I think that I would finish. I had proved to myself that I can do the impossible.

I had to wait for about 10 minutes for my brother to finish. By then, my whole body was aching, and my legs wanted to sleep on me. But boy, was I happy.

Concluding Thoughts

Running applies to life in many ways. It taught me many things. Here's what I realized after running.

1. Don’t give up. If I had listened to my negative thoughts, I would have given up and not finished the marathon. I stuck through the whole way. It felt amazing and surreal to finish the race. In life, there will be naysayers and haters. What’s important is to stick with your intuition and keep on going. Sticking through the whole process will yield huge rewards.

2. You can achieve anything you put your mind to. I never thought that I could run 26 miles in a day. Not even 3 miles (big difference). In my eyes, I did the impossible! If you have the will, you will find a way.

3. Change happens outside of your comfort zone. If I stayed in my comfort zone, I would have never accomplished what I did. For change or growth to happen, you step outside of your comfort zone and embrace it.

I’m proud of myself for finishing a marathon. It has helped me change for the better. Now, I realize I’m capable of more.

Do you have any accomplishments that you’re proud of and/or that changed your life?