A few weeks ago, my best friend and I traded in our coveted couch, pizza, and Netflix routine for sneakers, bibs, and 13.1 miles of half marathon agony. For two girls who find any excuse to skip the gym and refuse to drag their lifeless bodies out of bed before 10am, this was more than a goal to overcome; this was a Sisyphus-style feat. And at the end, I would’ve preferred rolling a boulder up a hill than running another mile.
What possessed you to run a half marathon, you’re probably wondering.
It was in the middle of fall semester dead week that we discovered Disneyland’s Tinker Bell Half Marathon in May. At the time, we were looking for any excuse not to study and write more papers, and somehow looking up half marathons and deciding whether we could actually physically do it was our procrastination of choice. That, and the hardcore hungover shame and guilt we were experiencing at the time. And the chance to go to Disneyland together. All together, in hindsight, this sounds like a mixture for a terrible mixed drink that leads to the bad decisions of Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night.” And it was, if you consider running 13.1 miles when you can’t even get off the couch to get your Postmates order a form of cruel and unusual punishment.
“This will whip us into shape, right?” My friend asked me.
“Totally!” I exclaimed.
Wrong. We were both so wrong.
Months later, after plenty of cardio and weightlifting, it was May. We were in Disneyland. And it was 4:30 in the morning. We had trained to some extent, but only the good graces of the running gods could save us now. On the way into the corrals, we picked up our emergency bibs--because of course we didn’t get them earlier--and judged everyone else running, as if they could do it, so could we.
We sat in corral F, the last corral, for thirty minutes before it was finally our time to jog. At that point, the adrenaline bursted in our veins and the moment we had waited so long for was upon us. We took it slow, understanding our limits, and jogged amongst other people who were challenging themselves to do something out of their comfort zone. And the fact that most people were decked out in costumes, tutus, and glitter helped create a lighter ambiance for us runners who weren’t looking to make a 1 hour 30 minute time.
The first six miles were pretty easy, considering you’re jogging for six miles. The second seven miles felt like running through hell with no escape. It turns out when you’re running, you have a lot of alone time to think and I spent most of my time thinking about what a piece of garbage I was for signing up for this run when I could be at home sleeping. Disneyland, that’s why.
In the end, we both made it out alive. My friend excelled with a time of 3 hours for her first half marathon, and I finished under my goal of 3 hours and 20 minutes. It didn’t make hobbling to the car, or weebling into my friend’s apartment to sleep afterwards any better, but the McDonalds that we sped to post-race definitely did.
Half marathons are a strange phenomenon. We pay a lot of money to run a lot of miles. Although some are for charity, there are also a lot of them that aren’t, which begs the question: why do we do this to ourselves? Maybe it’s the challenge. Maybe it’s the greatest feeling of accomplishment that comes with crossing that finish line and seeing the hoards of people cheering you on. Maybe it’s the chance to show off your strength and skills. The world may never know.
But reflecting back on my run, through the hours of sweat and tears and calculating how many more miles I had to push through, one thing stood out to me: the sense of community we all created. Maybe it was because I wasn’t in one of the faster corrals, but this race didn’t feel like a race at all. It was reminiscent of a nice morning stroll surrounded by 13,000 other runners and thousands of spectators instead of a competition. Local high school cheerleaders came and cheered us on. Employees, family members, friends, and local neighbors all came out to support us with signs of encouragement, cowbells, cheers of positivity, and tons of food and love to keep us going. When I felt like giving up, a stranger with a sign and a smile always helped me push through the agony. When I looked around me, it didn’t feel like I was running with strangers because once you hit your stride, you start to run in a flock of the same people. Instead, it felt like I was running in my own little community. And if they could keep up their momentum and dedication, so could I.
We all wanted to accomplish the same end goal. We weren’t competing. We were supporting each other. And in the end, everyone came out on top.
If you’re considering running a half marathon now or in the future, do it. It is a challenge, I won’t lie, but it’s also one of the greatest senses of accomplishment. Pushing your body to its limits is daunting. I spent a lot of time in the tub in epsom salt baths and I cleared out the CVS’s Bengay section. But it’s also a testament to the amount of dedication, love, positivity, and encouragement you are willing to put into others, into charity, and into yourself. My biggest piece of advice though is to follow those half marathon training schedules. They were created for a reason.
Now that it’s over, I can’t say that I miss training or that I miss the experience. But looking back on it, I don’t regret running a half marathon. It made me a much stronger person mentally and physically, and I will continue to channel each and every thought and feeling into my perseverance. I would say I will never do it again, but to quote Justin Bieber: “never say never.”
