The 'life is a marathon' analogy

I ran my first marathon around two years ago. An inactive couch potato like me got the motivation to do it when my dad hurt my big fat ego during a discussion. Sometimes I feel a wound on my ego works better than any inspirational quotes and stories. Two years ago, Parth, my cousin, my dad and I were sitting together. As far as I can recollect, dad was talking about marathons — he and my uncles had run many by then. While talking about the next marathon they would book, he started persuading Parth to join them.

I interrupted and said, “I’ll also join.”

In response, dad chuckled. “What?” I was irritated. “Do you think it’s so easy? You need a lot of practice for it.”, he responded.

I immediately shot back, “Yeah. So, I will practise.” My dad nodded his head. His expression told me he was not convinced. In fact, he was sure I was talking in the air and would not step out of the house.

I was determined to prove him wrong. So, I walked and ran with him in the evenings almost daily. When he realised I was serious about it, he started guiding me on how to run a marathon. And so, in February 2020, I earned my first 5K marathon medal. I remember taking pride in the fact that I ran 5 KM continuously. But soon, the fire that I had ignited in myself doused in a matter of seconds with all the news channels announcing the breaking news about the nationwide lockdown. We got refunds from the following three marathons that we had booked.

After two years, when everyone got vaccinated, and the lockdown situation started improving, everything started happening in reality rather than virtual, including marathons. It was time to reignite the fire and start running again. Although I had lost touch with running, I requested dad to book for me too. This time the run was mapped in a beautiful location — the Bandra fort. We reached the spot when it was dark — way before sunrise — by 5:15 AM. When dad woke me up at 4:30 AM, my mind started doing what it does best — play games. Who said running so early was a good idea? Yeah. I think you should go back to sleep. I know, I want to sleep too. Yes, go to sleep. It’s not going to be any fun. No, I can’t sleep. Wake up. Sleep is more important than anything else. No, I want to go. You get one day to sleep as you like, do you want to miss that? Yes, I want to go. And after a brief battle with my thoughts, I finally got up, splashed some cold water on my face and got dressed.

We parked the car, and as we walked towards the Bandra Bandstand, we felt the beautiful, salty wind hit our faces. The sea waves were wild. The thrill was building up. It was not over yet — as soon as we reached the venue, cold water droplets hit our bodies — it started pouring crazy! Everyone scurried for cover. My dad, Sonu papa and chachu were running the 10K marathon, so their run started half an hour before me. After I wished them luck, they joined the fellow marathoners, who were all eagerly waiting for the gunshot. The enthusiasm was real; seeing so many people excited about running felt awesome. The space soon got emptier, but the organisers had a way to keep us occupied — Zumba! I was not too keen on joining the dance troupe, so I warmed up for a while. I became curious only when I felt too lonely standing alone under the cover. So, I got out of my zone and went to where everyone was following the steps of three jolly men dressed in neon yellow jackets, dancing to peppy songs on the stage at 5:30 in the morning. I stood at one side, feeling too shy to participate. Seeing everyone dance, I felt like the odd one out there. So, I joined the crowd to shake the sleepiness out of my body.

After three songs, our bodies had warmed up nicely. We queued up, all set to run. Groups of people were clicking pre-run photos, and I was trying not to be captured in their cameras. The countdown began, and the moment they shouted 0, all of us started running. In about 500m, we were running by the Arabian sea, cutting through the strong winds. It felt amazing — it was just me, the road ahead and my fellow runners. I did not know them, but running together brought a sense of belongingness. As I kept running, my thoughts spoke to me. Probably the beautiful location, the sound of the waves, and the cold winds made me think about life. My mind is almost always buzzing. And this time, it was comparing life to a marathon. After my run, I kept thinking about this analogy — it was fascinating as I discovered more similarities between the two.

Life is a marathon. Before I started running, I knew my destination but not my path. I trusted my destiny and the community and kept moving forward despite the slight apprehension in my mind. I soon realised the route was planned because someone guided me at every checkpoint. It assured me that I was on the right path. Lovely people were cheering for us every few metres and offering support to re-energise ourselves. They celebrated our success but asked us to keep going without stopping. The goal was something else; there was no time to get satiated with small wins and become complacent. At the same time, it was crucial to acknowledge these little achievements to help us continue toward our end goal without giving up. In life, too, we have to trust our instincts and move toward our goals. The path is planned, and if not, we will be able to create it. We will find people who will guide us through it and cheer us on the way — we have to believe in ourselves and the universe.

I kept running at a comfortable speed because my target was to reach it without taking a break. I knew if I took a break, I would slow down and lose the motivation to complete the run. My inner dialogue was on, and this time, it was positive. I observed many people would sprint and get ahead of me but become tired soon and stop. They would have to then walk for a while and regain their energies before they started running again. In the meantime, I would take over. Over the years, I have learnt that impatience may motivate you toward your goals, but it is often short-lived because you tend to give up sooner if you do not achieve the desired quick results.

When I was nearing the end goal, I heard a dad motivating his tired little daughter, “Look at didi ahead of you! If she can keep running, you can, too. Come on! Let’s keep going.” Don’t we love struggle stories? It’s because we all struggle in our lives, and when we come across people who have overcome those struggles and achieved their goals, we often want to know how they did it. Getting inspired is the motive, not harbouring jealousy. Ultimately, irrespective of the number of success stories we read, the competition remains with ourselves, never with others. That is why I was the inspiration for her, not the goal that she had to beat. Finishing the run remained the goal.

The last 500 metres stretch was thrilling. Everyone was fervently encouraging each other to continue moving forward. When you’re almost there, staying motivated and running becomes harder. You’re tired and want to stop, but the encouragement keeps you going. Somehow, everyone strives for you to win when you’re nearly there. While running my final stretch, a middle-aged man joined me and gave me a tip, “After a minute, when you reach the last 100m, sprint as fast as you can!” I didn’t know him, but I liked his gesture of sharing something he knew with me. It’s no secret — life is no secret — it is meant to be shared with others. And he was right; you have to push yourself and give your best shot in the last run.

When many of us finally crossed the finish line, it started raining! It felt as if the rain was celebrating our success with us — it was a breath-taking experience — but also quite literally. My eyes were burning, my body was numb, and I shoved through the crowd to find a place to sit and catch my breath. The rain helped my intensely warmed-up body cool down a bit. After returning to my senses, I walked up to get some water and waited for my dad and uncles at the finish line. We celebrated our success with some photos, medals, cheers, and guess what? Booked the next one soon after going back!

Conclusion? We have to run many marathons in life. After one ends, another one is ready for us.