The Spirit of a Marathon
I recently ran my third marathon and found it to be the most amazing experience of my life. For the first time in my running career, I was not focused on “time” but was focused on the other runners that were there. Something happened to me that surely has changed my view of the purpose of running in my life, forever.
I started out this race with friends that were pacing the 5 hour group. I thought that would be a good place to start as I always seems to start too fast and not have a good amount of energy at the end. I stayed with that group for the first few miles and then moved up a bit as I met other runners. I spent just about the entire race from that point forward running with other first time marathoners. I learned so much about them and their thoughts and goals as they accomplished one of their dreams and probably one of the toughest goals in their lives. There was a connection with these people that just can’t be described. They each had a life story that had brought them to this place and they were passionate about what they were doing and where they were going. They each touched my heart in ways that they will never know. I think that what I gained from my marathon this weekend is that it is not about the race but it is about helping other people to achieve their dreams. Whether it’s talking with them to help them ease the pain or going at a slower pace to meet their needs… it is something that I will do at each and every race in my future. I will never again run to achieve a “time” but will run to help others see success.
I also have to talk about the people who were on the side lines cheering us on because the same experience was happening here. I was so touched by the fans and people who gave their time, comfort and enthusiasm towards making us feel as though we were important. The giving was tremendous from these fans that would chant everyone’s name whether they knew us or not. They would offer words of encouragement that meant more than they could have ever imagined.
A friend of mine who was one of those fans sent me a note about the experience he had on the sidelines as he watched two younger men cheering others on. I think this sums things up.
“The thing that really was “revealed” to me was the unity that I witnessed. Deepak is always teaching about how we are all connected. I saw these two young college aged boys who were cheering for everyone. They were Hispanic or perhaps Persian / Indian. These two young men taught me a great lesson about the human spirit. They were cheering for complete strangers for hours, non-stop, just because… Just because there is an innate connection that most of us are not even aware of. These two young men were not just groupies without a life. They were athletic, handsome, and intelligent. They could have been doing a number of other things with their life at that moment, but they chose to be part of something much bigger. I think the spirit of marathons is fantastic.”
The bigger question now is, how do we take that spirit, that level of giving, that respect for other human beings, that genuine kindness & caring, that passion & love for others… and make it an everyday occurance…an every minute occurance?
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