Why Are YOU Running?

October is marathon month.

That means two things:

• everything in our running store is 26.2% off (yay!)
• there are a hell of a lot of marathons going on this month

I have a lot of friends running marathons over the next three weeks.

Some are running Chicago this Sunday.

Others are running Toronto in two weeks.

A whole bunch of us are running Niagara Falls in 19 days.  Oh yes folks, we have gone from 126 days to a mere 19.  Yikes!

We may not have been there together for every run but we were all training together and the support in person and online has been tremendous.

Now that we are so close to race day(s), the posting of inspirational running quotes, posters, photos and videos on Facebook has started and will continue until the last of us cross the finish line.

Many, like me, are running our first marathon.  Some are running because this year is a special birthday year (40, 50 etc) and they want to run a marathon to celebrate.  Others are doing it to cross it off their bucket list.  Some are running because the marathon happens to fall on their wedding anniversary (hi Brian, hi Nancy!) and what a great way to celebrate.  Some jumped on the marathon bandwagon and figured what the hell?  I'm sure a few are asking themselves why the hell they ever thought this was a good idea.

I am running Niagara because of this poster:

I saw it when Doug and I were in Boston for the marathon.  He ran the marathon - I took pictures.  Well, except that I missed taking HIS picture which I'm still being teased about.  "I was just so excited to see you I forgot to take a picture!"

Back to the poster.  This picture does not do it justice in terms of how huge and dominating the poster was.  I just stopped and stared up in awe when I saw it.

I was already caught up in marathon fever - it's hard not to be when you're in Boston on marathon weekend.  I had been mistaken for a marathoner several times already - hard not to be when you're walking around in running gear.

I looked up, saw the poster and decided then and there to try a marathon.

I don't know if I'm a marathoner the way some people are.  I know several people who run multiple marathons every year.  They are always either training, tapering or recovering so that they can start training again.

Am I a marathoner? I won't know until I try.  My first race of any distance is usually pretty challenging and yet I've always wanted to do another one when I crossed the finish line.

I may fall in love with the marathon.  I may curse it forever.

What I do know is that I fell in love with the training.  The distances that felt so overwhelming are now no big deal.  I am so much stronger than I was back in June when this craziness started.

The training has already won my heart.

Let's see what the marathon does.