It is a kind of status symbol, an achievement that is recognized, celebrated and applauded.
It is the reason why so many people run and have become passionate about running.
So many people start running in adulthood, and it happens more and more often that they skip stages, getting to run the queen distance almost immediately.
The first time they generally run with the sole goal of getting to the finish line.
Then, galvanized by having made it, one immediately thinks about the next marathon with the goal of improving the time of the previous one.
However, it is neither certain nor a given that this will happen.
Interest in the marathon is not mandatory, just as running it at least once is not.
One is not more of a runner than someone else just because one has completed a marathon.
Your way
Running is often associated with a solitary activity, allowing you to take time for yourself and be alone with your thoughts.
Running can become an extremely meditative experience.
It’s just you moving through space, setting the pace with your breath and your steps. Training for a marathon shifts the focus to other aspects: you focus more on pace, distance, and a whole other set of parameters that allow you to build your program according to your physical condition, losing sight of the more playful and carefree aspect of the act.
There is no right or wrong way to experience your runs and workouts-there is the way that suits you best.
Enjoy the same benefits
There will be no one to put a prestigious medal around your neck at the end of your run, but even running without it involving preparation for any specific event will give you satisfaction and enjoy great benefits, with the added benefit of not having to go through tight, and sometimes grueling, marathon preparation plans. You won’t have any pressure or performance anxiety.
You won’t even find yourself having to deal with that state of sadness that might arise post-race from finishing a course without knowing what to do from then on.
You will be free to run as much, as much, and where you want.
Your body and mind will enjoy the same benefits.
You will load up on endorphins even without running 42 kilometers 195 meters if that is not what you want.
No one is forcing you and most importantly, you should not feel you have to do it for any reason, because that reason does not exist!
Do you really need to prove it to yourself?
A marathon is an ambitious goal for anyone who sets out to finish one, regardless of whether it is the first or the umpteenth experience over this distance.
There are people who motivate themselves by setting challenging goals to measure themselves against from time to time, both professionally and personally. For some people, completing a marathon is a way to prove to themselves that they can do it and that they have earned the “title of marathon runner.”
However, this is not the desire of everyone who runs.
There are those who find no attraction in completing a marathon to prove they can do it.
There are those who are simply “content” to run, and are happy (and right!) so.