This past Sunday I volunteered in the medical tent at the Portland Marathon. Although I have volunteered at many races in the past, I had never volunteered or even watched a marathon before Sunday and I can confidently say it was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen.

I got to my station around 8 a.m, it was pouring rain, and I was already freezing. I set up my station and then waited for the first runners to come by. My station was at mile 24, so I had to wait quite a while until runners started racing by. The first runner ran by minutes before the next, and soon after that they began to come by more continuously. I was surprised and also impressed at how composed and strong the front runners looked, even through they were on mile 24, in the pouring rain.

Although watching the elite runners pass by was impressive, the real fun began when the "average" runners started to run by. These were the runners who had probably done a marathon or two in the past, trained regularly, but weren't particularly looking for a precise time. These runners consisted of people of all ages and genders and all different sizes. I was not only impressed watching these runners, but also motivated to achieve something as great as they were. As I watched women and men, even some boys and girls run by, I completely forgot about how cold and wet I was and instead, began to feel excited and intrigued. I thought to myself, if they can do it, maybe I can.

Running a marathon is an immense goal to achieve, maybe one of the most challenging. But watching these "regular" people run by with a smile on their face and a look of determination, it helped me to realize that all you need to achieve a goal is motivation and the drive to work hard. These people were out here for the fun of it, the feeling of accomplishment when all their hard work and training paid off, and because they had the opportunity to run.

Watching the Portland marathon opened my mind to many new possibilities and goals for myself. I think everyone should go watch a marathon sometime in their life to get inspired by some incredibly physically and mentally strong people.