The glory of crossing the finish line

April 6, 2014. I woke up extremely early to watch the Paris Marathon on SKY Sports. I love my company and I couldn´t be more proud to see our brand all over the streets of Paris. I was following the female leaders of the race and as I watched them smash the streets of Paris, I could only think “how on earth can they run all those kilometers”. For me, it seemed impossible to think that a regular gal like me could do such thing.

5 months after having watched the race, I started to see the marketing for the 2015 edition of the race… so then it happened… the crazy idea got into my head: “what if I sign up for it?”. I started to ask my friends about how feasible it was for me to accomplish it. I did research about the training plans and started to seriously think about registering for the 2015 edition of the Paris Marathon. The decision was made: I was going to run the Paris Marathon. I registered very early, around September 2014 and when I got my bib number (near October), I knew there was no turn back… The clock was ticking, training needed to start!

I downloaded the Nike Running app and started to track my performance… needless to say that at the beginning I could barely run 2 kilometers nonstop. The first weeks were painful and full of injuries… I had no strength on my legs and I had no idea on how to run properly. My training shoes were very old and my eating habits were very bad… but I was convinced that I was going to make it, I had 6 months ahead to learn, fail, get up, fail again and to get better. My times started to get better (just a little, I am still massively slow), my legs started to get stronger and so did my mind and my heart. As the year kicked in, training started to get more challenging… Long runs over 17, 20 and 30 kilometers… I did them all. Every kilometer destroyed was a pillar added to my palace of confidence. Every long run that I completed was a shot to every single one of my personal demons.

April 12th, 2015. The morning of the race. 

As we got to the starting point, I started praying, but not for me to finish the race because there are real things for which one should pray and, a race is not one of them. I thanked God for the blessings in my life; I thanked God for 6 months of training on which I learned more about life than about running… Although I really wanted to finish the race, I knew in my heart that crossing the finish line wasn´t truly important… it was the journey that got me there what was really valuable. Yes, I wanted the medal, but in my heart I was confident that the best prices had been already given to me. During the stretching for the marathon, I thought on all the life lessons that the training gave me and then, 10 minutes before the race started, I felt completely in peace… I was ready for the 42.195 kilometers.

On every kilometer I ran, I remembered the key lessons and I thanked each one of them…

1. To the old man I saw on the road pushing a big bicycle, without shoes: thank you for teaching me that running a marathon is NOT something we should look forward to, or to pray for. We should pray for peoples true needs. We should be thankful. That day, I felt ashamed I had spent 187 USD on my training shoes, just because I wanted to pride myself of saying “I ran a marathon”. That pride was gone when I passed the old man and I saw his hurt feet.

2. To the family passing by, and who were pushing a loading bicycle with a baby on it (using it as a crib and stroller): thank you for making me realize of how stupid my worries are. I have it all. I must be thankful and appreciate.

3. To the people who cheered me, from their moving cars when they saw me running in the roads: thank you for teaching me that we all live in a society for a reason… to support each other. A smile has no cost, but it does deliver a piece of happiness to the one receiving the smile. I learned to give more to the people around me, because we are all on the same boat of life.

4. To the rainy training days, thank you for teaching me that sometimes we voluntarily put ourselves in bad situations and voluntarily accept to stay in them. From you, I learned that we have the power and the will to decide where to be, with whom and under which conditions. We are no victims. We are the masters of our lives.

5. To every training day. Thank you for teaching me that absolutely every goal can be accomplished if one dedicates its time and efforts to that goal. There is no goal big enough, when a plan is in place and one follows it. Failure is not an option, when things are done properly… because even when you “fail”, you win the price of having tried and having learned… it is called "growth", and growing can never ever be considered a failure.

6. To every Saturday morning after the long runs, on which I felt like crap. Thank you for teaching me that to accomplish anything, one must feel fire on its heart. We cannot move a finger without having the willingness to do so. Moving forward requires an inner something… it is passion what makes us jump out of bed at 6 am. It is the passion and fire within that makes us finish things… “Do it with passion or don´t do it at all”.

7. To my boyfriend who joined me on the training process: thank you for teaching me what true support means. For eating the same thing over and over again just to be solidary with me. Thank you for pushing me to be better and better, for pushing me to give more. “Run more…” Those are words that echo in my mind every day. Now I live by them “give more…”. Thank you for making me feel that what I was doing mattered to somebody apart from myself. You made me feel important. I love you with all my heart.

8. To my brother, mother and father, who never truly understood why it was a good idea to run a marathon (I don´t blame them): thank you for supporting me regardless of how stupid this idea looked. From them I learned that true love is about ACCEPTING each other. They taught me that true love celebrates with the loved one, even when the reason for the celebration means “nothing” to them.

9. To my friends, for reminding me what I am capable of and, for making me believe in myself. Thank you for your words of support, they filled my heart and touched my soul.

After 5 hours and 8 minutes (yes I am a super slow runner), I crossed the finish line of what it was my first marathon. I crossed the line and put my head down, in complete state of humbleness. I made it... I ran 42.195 kilometers.

No, there´s no glory when you cross the finish line… No, I did not feel invincible. When I crossed the finish line, I could only think of the 9 lessons listed above (and trillions more). For me, the true glory can be found on every day on which each one of us go out there to run the race of life.

Run a marathon, but not for the medal or to cross the finish line. Run a marathon, because we all need 42.195 kilometers to uncover certain incredible things about life and about ourselves.

Run.

100  meters away from the finish line... yes, I am the one on pink shorts :)