Marathoner

  I remember the day I decided to enter the Spring Marathon.  Crazy, huh?  I'd never even been in a regular race before.  We had just read in school the story of the first marathon, where a messenger had run more than 26 miles to pass news to his king, and died of the effort, and I was inspired.
  The race was only a few weeks away, so I knew I would have to start training right away.  What? Unrealistic? Can't get ready in just a few weeks?  Hey, you haven't heard anything yet!  I have found that when I make up my mind, I can do just about anything I want to.  It isn't always easy, mind you; but only accomplishing easy things is no fun.  I like a challenge!  And this sounded like a great challenge.
  No, of course I had no real thought that I might win.  I was just hoping to finish.  I had gotten over my perfectionism quite awhile ago.  It was actually math class that made me stop doing that.  I discovered there that no matter how hard I tried, I was only ever going to do my very tiptop best once in my life!  That is the definition of "best. "  Furthermore, I discovered, that half of everything is below average.  You can't help it; that's just in the definition.  On the other hand, half what I do is above my average.  So my job isn't always to be at the peak.  My job in life is to keep raising my average!  And do you know what?  That isn't nearly as hard as it sounds.  It's just realistic and positive.
    So I was doing this to raise the average of my capabilities and experiences.  I didn't have to win to do that; but I had to enter.  Just finishing would be my victory.
    Once I made up my mind, I called a few friends.  Training is no fun alone, and I figured I'd need some help.  When I explained what I meant to do, they got excited and were eager to try, too.  Five of us entered together.
    Every day before school we five went out and practiced.  We did a little weight training, some walking to start with, and some running -- a little more each day.  We ran out of time before school, and started training in the gym after school.  After we explained what we were up to, the principal and staff were very supportive.  Mr. Green, the track coach, stayed after and gave us his advice almost every day.
    Eventually, it was race day.  What a great day for a race!  The sun was shining, the air was just a bit cool, so we wouldn't overheat too easily - it was perfect!
    We all got our race numbers, and since we didn't care about being fastest, we were happy to settle in toward the back of the pack.  It was amazing to see the crowds lining the route.  I think our whole high school must have been there to cheer on our little team.  And at 6 AM, we were off.
    I'll make a long story short.  It was one lo-o-ong day!  We started off just full of energy, but already after five miles we had slowed down a lot.  Sometimes one of us would run ahead, and then wait for the rest of us to catch up; but mostly we just stayed together, changing who would lead now and then, or just going side by side. 
    Lots of our schoolmates kept showing up along the way with drinks and energy bars -- so many, that I think I actually had gained weight by the time the race was over.  We sure had fun.  And considering how little training we had actually had, we kept up a pretty good pace.  By the time we had covered half the distance, though, we had started taking frequent walking breaks.  None of us would admit it then, but we began to wonder if we would be able to finish.  But our friends would drive as close to us as they could, and at least every half hour, someone would be there with fresh drinks, and cool, damp cloths to wipe off with, and to cheer us on.  Once a TV camera followed us for a little while, and interviewed us as we were walking.  That got up the adrenalin for a little while, too. 
    The average marathoner finishes the race in about five hours.  We thought we'd be doing well to finish by sundown, but by then we still had a mile or so to go.  Even though it was cooler and quieter with the sun down, we were barely trudging along.  I told my teammates they could quit if they needed to, that they had been good to stick by me with my crazy ideas; but they all said I'd have to shoot them to make them stop now for goodness sake when the race was almost finished!
      Finally we came in sight of the finish line.  What a surprise!  It was lit up like noonday!  There were crowds there.  What is going on? I wondered.  Everyone else must have finished hours ago; why are they still waiting here?  One of the girls started laughing!  They were waiting for us!  Everyone was cheering, as if something wonderful had happened.  People with cameras and microphones were all over the place waiting for us to reach the finish line.  I still start to cry whenever I think of how I felt - how totally exhausted and exhilarated and happy I felt when finally my wheelchair was pushed across that line.