The real spirit of the marathon

It's my opinion that the real spirit of the marathon is self-deprivation and sacrifice. Purification is the end. Physical training is the means. Who among us has ever romanticized in their mind becoming a shaolin monk? The solitude; the personal thoughts and visualization during the hours spent running alone are themselves a type of meditation. The patience required for achievement. The absence of material rewards. The things we do. The things we do without. Testing physical and mental endurance. Focusing on technique and breathing. Feeding our bodies the things they need and forgoing the things which, under different circumstances, we might otherwise want. And why? Precisely because we don't have to. I do not necessarily mean that marathon training is some kind of religious experience. I mean that marathon training can be likened to a part of a monastic lifestyle. You know, the part that doesn't have to do with worship. Balance, calm, clarity and humility are still attained.

I've often thought of this modern monasticism and why it's so appealing to me, given this age of techno-ease and instant gratification. I think that it feels good to work for something, to struggle, to do without and to accomplish on your own. And make no mistake, when running a marathon, you are very much on your own. I think that part of it goes back to what Chuck Palahniuk said in 'Fight Club': "We are history's middle children...we don't have a great war in our generation, or a great depression...". If there is no common cause, no collective call to arms, then some of us are compelled to an individual one.

I think that it's more and simpler than that, though. It feels good to know oneself - what you're capable of, where your limits are and what you could really do if you really had to. That's the most practical value of so much disciplined dedication.