“Taking part in a marathon is not just about running and finishing it within how many minutes. It’s like a goal you set, and you see yourself going towards the goal and getting it. It’s the form of satisfaction, you know?”

I nodded. Yes, I know and I can fully resonate with what my friend has just said.

We were having dinner and he mentioned that he would like to go for a marathon. “You mean the annual Standard Chartered one? I asked. “Yes,” he said.

Marathons have a way of getting people addicted to it. That’s why you see marathoners covering longer distances and even going distances to travel to other countries to take part just to “experience and challenge the different set of terrains” as my friend quipped.  

Some got so hooked up that there is no way they can appease their adrenaline rushes except by pumping it higher by upgrading to triathlons.

Well, I’m not a runner. And frankly, by my standards, I’d have died from exhaustion running erh, say, half a track? Though I don’t relish the pushing of my physical limits or the high one experiences after a hot-sweating run, I can feel how the marathoners feel.

It’s really not just about running long distances. There are so many complex thoughts, emotions and external conditions going on that could just make or break a runner during a typical marathon. What makes them passionate? What makes them persevere? How do they keep their heads above the murky waters of doubts, fears and fatigue and stay focused and determined?

Sometimes, it can be as simple as a leap of faith, as an awakening one day to do something outrageous, as a casual health goal or even just to run in the name of charity.

Besides personal control and achievement, running a marathon is, to me, also part of a form of community living. The camaraderie shared among the fellow runners; the gathering of people from all walks of life regardless of age, gender, race, language, religion or profession for one sole purpose.

There’s something about marathons, that unless one really gets their legs dirty and run, it would be hard to imagine what they go through.

One thing is for sure though. The rewards far exceeds those sweat by perhaps more than a thousand times. Agree, marathoners? Agree, Adrian?