I've either just made a monumentally stupid decision or a really awesome one. I signed up to run a marathon. In April.
And yes, I realize the silliness of rambling on and on about how I want to do something bigger than myself and then a few seconds later posting about how I want to do something super self indulgent. Challenging and difficult to be sure, but still. I'll raise some money for a good cause, but at the end of the day, I want to do this for me.
Here's how it came about. In April I went to watch the London Marathon. I've always wanted to run a marathon. I've always said I'd do it one day. And as much as I hate it when people say "you aren't getting any younger", well, I'm not. Besides, who knows where I'll be next year at this time. I signed up. The sneaky thing is, signing up for the London Marathon is like signing up to win the lottery. Most of the spots are reserved for "charity runners", a rant I'll save for another paragraph (see below*). Apparently the odds are roughly one in seven that you'll get chosen. So, I felt pretty safe in saying I'd signed up. If I didn't get chosen, well, not my fault! I tried, right?
Turns out, the Paris Marathon takes place within a week of the London one. As backup plan, I decided to sign up for that one too. The Paris one is first come first serve, so signing up for that one actually means I'll be running it.
If I get chosen to run in London, I'd rather do that. I'd be throwing away the entry fee to the Paris one, but that's the way I've chosen to roll. And if not, well, Paris is cool. I like Paris. More importantly, I have friends in Paris who can come out and cheer me on.
I remember when I used to run cross country races in high school. I kind of sucked. Upon graduating, my coach told me he didn't think I'd last the first week. I barely lasted through the first warm up run. As it turns out, I was the only one of the runners in attendance that day who would last all five years on the team. It isn't a success story in the Underdog Wins it All script-bank. By the end of high school I sucked a bit less, but I still sucked.
I have no illusions of suddenly becoming a super fantastic marathon runner. I'll run. I'll (hopefully) finish. I'll be proud of myself. That's what I'm going for.
* The charity thing - A lot of the bigger charities in the UK are given a few places in the marathon for charity runners. These runners pledge to raise a certain amount of money for their chosen cause. Sweet, right? Good all around? Not so much. The minimum amount a runner can pledge to raise is well above a thousand pounds. Even worse, if you don't reach your goal, you're personally on the hook to make up the difference. I read a blog about a poor woman who had the debt collectors after her. She'd fallen a couple hundred pounds short of her goal, but she was tapped out. Her friends, family, co-workers and neighbors were tapped out. In London, there are lots of people who run the marathon, and they're all trying to raise money at the same time.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be raising money for something. It's just that I won't be taken to debtor's prison (does that even exist anymore?) if I raise a measly 700 quid rather than the "recommended" 1200.
(I shot this at the Paris Marathon in 2008)
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