Taking on the challenge....

I love the marathon. There I've said it. It is a reality check into what is possible, and plausible for ordinary people to accomplish. It's simple really, get up early in the morning, crawl out of bed, head out the door in all kinds of weather and run. For short (3-4 miles) jaunts at first and culminating in ever increasing long runs (up to 2o miles) and then head to the starting line. Simple. Not easy. Life happens along the way, moments of rational thinking keep many of us away from the starting line. And then there is the marathon itself. All the miles, all the commitment all the desire will take you a long way during your training, but the test of the marathon is reserved for race day. I'm fond of saying to my runners that "if you don't know God, you will usually find him waiting for you around mile 22..." If you have done the work, gotten up when it's 28 degrees outside and still headed out the door, kept up with the 2 or 3 midweek runs and the ever increasing long runs, more than likely you will answer the call in the latter parts of the race that will require, no really demand that you dig deeper into your soul to answer the question "Why am I doing this?" What do I need to prove? and to who? You will face the question, and you will answer. You will have climbed to the top of Marathon Mountain and you will find that you will have mental, physical and spiritual strength that you didn't know you had.

I've been letting myself rationalize away some recent races. Lost some of the motivation that drove me out the door. I've been happy to watch as my runners achieved goals of their own and quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) proud to know that I was able to help them in some small way.

Well, I've found my motivation. On March 30, 2008, I will run what I believe is my 15th or 16th marathon. I will be running in the ING Atlanta race where I live. I said in an earlier post that my cousin Ray passed away recently, and his passion for running and life will be my motivation. He was going to run with me and my brother Mike, the three Polish amigos, trampling the hills of Atlanta. That and the opportunity to take someone else to the top of the mountain......So in his stead, I will be training my son Kyle to reach the top of his first Marathon Mountain. It will be interesting to see him go through the metamorphasis of traininig, seeing first how impossible the task appears and then slowly, almost imperceptibly, realizing that Hey, I can do this...

So here's to climbing the mountain once again. Again, with passion for life, for the stories on the road that make each day worth living, for each of you that are seeking to find the answer to the question......

"There is no view in this world, like the view from the top of Marathon Mountain"...jk

Knowing you can, believing you will...

Coach JK