Finishing the Boston Marathon

I’m the kind of man who likes to get my money’s worth, so when it came to running the 112th Boston Marathon, I made sure I experienced everything — including the medical tent.

Why should you care about any of this? I’ll get to that in a bit.

Running a marathon is not easy. It’s 26 miles and 385 yards of (hopefully) non-stop running. For elite runners, it takes just over 2 hours to complete.

I finished my first marathon (28-May-2006 in Burlington, VT) in 5 hours, 09 minutes, 51 seconds.

I finished my second marathon (05-Nov-2006 in New York, NY) in 4 hours, 54 minutes, 44 seconds — knocking 15 minutes off my time.

For my third marathon (21-Apr-2008 in Boston, MA), I was shooting to break 4 hours and 30 minutes, which would require running 24 minutes faster (nearly one minute per mile faster) than my NYC marathon.

If you don’t know much about running, marathons, or the Boston Marathon (in particular), you could probably care less.

But if you have ever had a really big goal, something you desperately wanted to achieve, something you didn’t think you had any right to go after, I’m sharing this story to tell you it’s time to get moving.

You probably realize life is a one-shot deal. There is no second act. So if you want something, do something now — today — to begin to make it happen. Put pictures up on your refrigerator, in your bathroom, in your closet, in your car. Tell people about your dream. Find out who else has a similar or the same goal. Go online. Go to the library (yes, they still exist). Join a club or a group. Listen to audiotapes or MP3s. Rent DVDs or Videos. Sign up for lessons (if they’re offered). Find an expert of former "master." Reignite your passion. Do anything!

Why? Because if your life were to end today, it should end complete, with no regrets.

I don’t like running. I never wanted to run a marathon. I never even thought I could finish a marathon. Now, I’ve run three — including two of the most famous in the world — and I finished them all.

Is running marathons important to me? Nope.

What’s important is knowing that I have the ability to sacrifice and delay gratification in pursuit of something greater, something meaningful. I can discipline myself when needed to do what others are not willing to do to experience what others will not experience. They can, but they won’t. Unless they act.

Sure, I passed out after running the Boston Marathon and visited the medical tent where I spent nearly 3 hours re-hydrating and stabilizing my blood pressure.

Was it worth it?

Like I said earlier, I like to get my money’s worth.

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