Just Finishing a Marathon is Not Good Enough

When I first started running I listened to a podcast called The Marathon Show. The tag line of the podcast was something like “celebrate the finish line not the finish time.”

I liked that motto, and in different ways I still like that motto.

No matter who is running the marathon there is always a reason to celebrate the finish line. The simple (but not easy) act of training for and running a marathon is reason to celebrate. Not to mention, for every runner there is a story in their life that gives them even more reason to celebrate the finish line.

The thing I don’t like about that motto is that it total disregard for the finish time.

The finish time might not be a measure of who you are as a runner, but it is still important.

Now, before you get all huffy on me, I know that not everyone cares about their finish times. Hell, for the last six years I have “ran” the Walt Disney World Marathon while taking pictures and riding rides and coming across the finish line in more time than some people spend sleeping.

But just because we run near the back of the pack doesn’t mean the finish time should not matter.

The numbers on the clock can show us how we are improving. They can give us something to aim for. After a while it is no longer a question of “can I finish a marathon” and just finishing becomes par for the course.

A little while back I ran the Delaware Marathon. It was my tenth marathon and probably my fifth with an actual time goal. I trained well for the marathon, but I did not train well enough. My time goal went out the window around mile 18 and I finished much slower than I expected.

Needless to say I was bummed. I was going for a PR and I failed.

My friends and family tried to console me by saying, “hey at least you finished.”

And I know they are right. At least I finished healthy and without injury. At least I have the ability to actually finish a marathon when so many people couldn’t start one even if they wanted to.

But here is the thing…

As I write this I am training for my 13th marathon.

When I ran my first marathon in 2009 I went from being completely sedentary and overweight to completing something I never thought I would be able to do. Despite making a number of mistakes and being ignorant to a lot of things about running, you better believe I celebrated that finish line and didn’t give a shit about the finish time.

And then, as I started running more and training better I started seeing my times drop. Not only in the marathon but in all race distances. I broke two hours in the half. I took huge chunks off my marathon time. I ran a mile over five minutes faster than when I tried to run my first mile back in the beginning.

The marathon has become something in my life that challenges me; a challenge that I can overcome when I put in the work and train smart.

So just finishing the marathon is not good enough for me.

Not anymore.

Not when I have finished a dozen marathons already.

If the race doesn’t have a big mouse in white gloves directing it then I most likely have a goal in mind. A goal that is challenging enough to make me work for it. Challenging enough to make me push myself harder than I think I can go. Challenging enough to change me.

I will still celebrate every finish line, but the celebration will be much sweeter whenever that finishing time is a new personal best for me.

What do you think? How do you measure your progress against your previous self? Tell me about it.

Do you want to watch as I document my running progress from day to day? Follow me on Instagram, @chasingfast