Spirit of the Marathon

Whenever I start doubting myself and that I'm crazy to even attempt a marathon, I watch this clip from the movie, Spirit of the Marathon. I saw this years ago in a movie theatre during the previews, and I remember thinking wow...maybe one day I might try. I think that was the first time the seed was planted that running the marathon was something that I wanted to accomplish. Fast forward to last year when I was training for the half and came across a copy of this movie in a running store. I snatched it up and watched it a few nights before the race and I thought if I make it through the half in one piece, I'm going for it - so here I am.

Every time I watch this , it renews my resolve to see this through to the end. The part that really hits home is Dick Beardsley's comment "When you cross that finish line, no matter how slow or how fast, it will change your life forever." To keep my motivation up (especially after my 16K debacle), I'm going to watch this clip every week after my long run as a reminder of what my end goal is...to be a marathoner.