“I
wanna wake up, In that city that doesn’t sleep.
And find I’m king of the hill, top of the heap.” ~ Frank Sinatra
This
weekend is the 44th running of the New York Marathon. This marathon is 1 of the 6 World Marathon
Majors and outside of the Boston Marathon, one of the most prestigious
marathons to run. This weekend many
runners from around the globe will converge upon Gotham city to fulfill, for
some, a lifelong dream. Many have
trained all year for this one big event.
The city that’s too busy to sleep will open its arms to the masses
taking a guided tour through its 5 boroughs – Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens,
Manhattan, and The Bronx.
One mile at a time, run towards the light
At the end of your journey you will be bright
With a smile
and a bit of delight
You are now a marathon runner
Sleep well tonight
I’ve
always found that three key attributes make up a marathoner – ability,
motivation, and attitude.
Ability
What a person is able to do can be based on talent, hard work, or
a combination of both. It’s common
belief that a person can do what they set their mind to. Marathon running is no different. Realizing your true potential and living up
to your ability is what marathon running is all about.
Motivation
To train for a marathon a person must be self-motivated. Most training programs are 12-18 weeks long, extreme
plans being 24 weeks. Training for 1
event over that period of time requires a type of motivation that can’t be
measured, packaged, or sold. A marathon
runner must dig deep from within to sustain the type of motivation needed to succeed
at running 26.2 miles. It’s not the destination,
but the journey which determines their destiny.
Attitude
Ever heard the expression, “your attitude determines your altitude”? To run a marathon is 90% mental and 50%
physical. That’s that new math for
you. Going into training and/or the race
with the wrong attitude can spell certain disaster. A successful marathoner understands the
importance of overcoming adversities and challenges, which can be directly linked
to their attitude. A good attitude
ultimately determines how well you will do in the marathon. Don’t get me wrong… the best attitude can’t
overcome poor training habits, injury, or things out of your control such as
weather. The point is… in more cases
where you approach a marathon trusting in your training, thinking positive
thoughts, and embracing the moment you are sure to have a good race.
“Ability is what you are capable of doing,
Motivation determines what you do, Attitude determines how well you do it.” ~
Lou Holtz
The marathon is a crap shoot.
This weekend thousands of runners will take to the streets of New York
to see where their ability, motivation, and attitude take them. I wish them well on their 26.2 journey.
Keep Running!!
Big Rome
