The Motivation Behind My First Marathon
The day was Sunday, January 18th, the year; 2009, and the location; Phoenix, Arizona.On this date a seed was planted in my head that one day I would run a marathon.A very aggressive goal, especially for someone who had never ran further than a mile, but nonetheless, a thought I vividly remember anchoring into a visualization that I just knew I’d experience someday.Less than two weeks prior I had packed all my belongings and moved out west to Arizona. Having spent all of my life in Texas up till this point, I was a bit nervous but excited about moving to a new place.I was twenty-three years old and had recently accepted an Inside Sales position to work for the Arizona Diamondbacks.My roommate Armando, who I’d be working and rooming with, would arrive the following day. “Ditto” and I briefly met a few weeks back in our interviews, but didn’t have much familiarity with one another past that.As we both got settled into our new spot about a mile north of downtown, I noticed Ditto change into some workout gear as soon as we made it home from work.“You going to the gym downstairs?” I asked.“No, I’m going to go outside for a 4 mile run.” He replied.“4 miles?!?!” I said in disbelief.At this time that seemed like an eternity to me. A flashback to high school entered my psyche as I remembered dragging ass just to finish one mile before basketball practice.“Yea” he said. His face covered in a half smile.“Damn bro, that’s crazy. Isn’t that going to take forever to finish?” I asked, still a bit shocked.“Naw man, this is a light day. I’m running a marathon in less than couple of weeks.”“A marathon?” I replied, clearly not aware of its details.“Yea homie, it’s just over 26 miles. My brother and I have been training for the past few months. He’s flying in from New York so we can do it together.” This rolled off his tongue said in a nonchalant tone.I was impressed. Though looking at his physique, I kind of didn’t believe he was capable of running that distance. He was about 5’10’’ and I’d guess around 180ish pounds.I envisioned all runners as thin and frail. All I could think of was an emaciated looking Kenyan crossing the finish line. He was definitely not this.Fast Forward two weeks and it was now race day.Upon waking up I decided to go support him. I took a quick shower, stopped to grab a couple water bottles at a local convenience store, and then headed to the race.I wasn’t sure as to whether or not I’d even bump into them but figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. I found a parking spot on the side of the road close to mile 22.He told me his goal time was 4:30 hours, which based off his start time should’ve still given me more than 15 minutes before he would hopefully reach my location.I began to fully take in the environment. Words can’t fully describe what I soon began to witness and the exhilaration that began to ensue inside of me.Not only were hoards of runners moving by (some more swiftly than others), I found the amount of support from the many onlookers to be intoxicating.High fives, uplifting screams, and claps filled the cool tempered and lightly damp atmosphere. I saw many of runners, of all different shapes and sizes, battling through the last few miles before ultimately finishing the entire 26.2.Just as I began to gaze even further into this uplifting vortex of onlookers, the man of the hour literally ran right up to me.“Congrats brother! Keep it up!” I yelled. Giving him a high five while placing a 20-ounce water bottle in his other hand.A big smile crossed over his face as he said “thank you” and continued on for the final four miles.I stayed for an additional thirty minutes. Watching the facial expressions of the other runners as I too clapped and cheered.A feeling of euphoria traveled through my body.To this day I remember having goose bumps and thinking, “Yup, I’m going to do this too.” I thought, if they can do this, there’s no reason why I can’t.On June 4th, 2017, just over seven years post this moment, I’m proud to say I completed my first marathon.This occurrence taught me something.It showed me that once a seed is planted in the mind and given the proper amount of water to flourish, the result is inevitable.I genuinely feel this is the case for all of us and the life experiences we choose to embark on.A thought, whether good or bad, that’s given enough attention, is sure to manifest.,I held the outcome, “that I would run in a marathon someday” in my heart and mind with so much certainty and clarity......that it wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when” I would do it.