"When You Cross the Finish Line, No Matter How Slow or Fast, It Will Change Your Life Forever" -Dick Beardsley (Spirit of the Marathon movie)

Last weekend I went to Washington, D.C. to watch my friend Amber run her first marathon. For several months, we chatted via email and phone as she prepped for her race. She learned about pacing, tempo runs, chaffing, gels, sports bras, epsom salt baths, NSAIDS, endorphins, and eating for her long runs.
She worked hard; battling the cold weather, running on a treadmill, cross training her heart out. And, oh, did I mention that she is a stay at home mom to her two adorable young children, Charlie & Isabella?? So, she also mastered a balancing act!

I took the red eye Thursday night and arrived in our nation's capital on Friday around lunch time. After a quick shower, there was a knock at my hotel door...it was Ms. Amber along with her husband Chuck and little Charlie. This was my first face to face meeting with Amber; I had met her online through Facebook. Throughout emails and phone calls we became good friends. It was so great to see her face in person! We had a fabulous lunch and went over details for the race the next day, when she and her friends were going to pick me up, where Chuck and the kids would meet us on the course and what she needed to do that night to be prepared for the next day. I would be with her for the first 20 miles. (I am training for a May marathon and needed 20 miles that weekend so it worked out well.)

The next morning, Amber and her friends picked me up and we took off for the start line. The traffic was ridiculous about a quarter mile from the start line so Amber and I hopped out of the car and hoofed it to the starting events. After the starting gun went off, It took about 20 minutes to cross the start line but we were off before we knew it. We started out at a moderate pace and pretty much held it there. Amber set the pace and did an excellent job of settling in and not pushing it; which is a very common mistake among all marathoners, not necessarily first timers. I was mostly there for moral support but also to make sure that Amber had what she needed for a successful race. Secretly, I was also there to watch an evolution happen; because as someone who has run a few marathons, I know that there is always a surprise for everyone when they choose this distance. (More on this later.)

Somewhere between mile 8-10 Amber's nagging injury started to, well, nag. She held it together till the 1/2 way mark where we stopped to stretch it out and get her fueled up. At this point, she knew that she would be out on the course longer than planned but she confessed that she was OK with this. A few times we stopped to walk to get her hip stretched out; through all of this she stayed positive and determined to do another marathon. Most first timers that face this kind of adversity typically curse the holy name of "marathon" and swear that they'll never do it again! Not Amber! She stayed cute and positive and took her time. Mile 17 brought a big smile to her face as we approached her husband and kids. We took a quick hello break and moved on. Another 3 miles and we were greeted with a big pink sign held by a tall blonde; our friend Theresa! Theresa was our friend from the Facebook group "Fit For Life" who happened to live about 30 minutes away from DC and made the trip in to cheer Amber on!! Life is full of gifts!

I left Amber at mile 20 with the best pep talk I could give, which she didn't really need because she had already figured it out! Theresa and I hopped the metro back to the finish line. We watched Amber come through the finishing chute with perfect form and a big HUGE smile on her face! I don't know about Amber but I was crying! I was so proud of her!

A lot of people chose to run a marathon for a variety of different reasons. Some want to cross it off their bucket list, some have been runners for awhile and want to move to the next distance level, some do it because their friends are training for one, and sometimes...or more times than we think, people take on the marathon because they lost a bet. Regardless of the reason, every single person that chooses to run a marathon gets more than a 26.2 mile run.

There is always a point in the race that forces the runner to make a decision. They have to decide if they are going forward with their commitment. Most of the time this decision comes later in the race but not so late that it doesn't seem like they have a million miles left to run. Usually it's about 6 miles to go but regardless, it feels like the second coming of Christ will happen before the finish line is in view. Every muscle is tight, sore and achy. You have to check to make sure your feet are still attached because you can't really feel them anymore. In some cases, your ability to see clearly no longer exists and the mile markers look blurry. And as Amber plainly put it, "That was more painful than childbirth!"

I remember last year I was running the last few miles of a marathon with my friend to keep her encouraged. She kept saying "Is that the finish?...is that the finish?" I just kept answering "almost." I didn't want to disappoint her because I knew what she was feeling and what answer she really wanted to hear. After all, you train for 16 weeks to prepare your body for this day. At many times, you feel like you've taken on a second job and you don't see the paycheck...well, not for 16 weeks anyway. Your partner starts to feel neglected because you're out the door every free moment to log more miles. Your grocery bill has more than doubled in size and so has the dust on your window sills. Because who wants to bust out their duster after a 20 miler on a relaxing Sunday?

Nonetheless, somewhere between armpit chaffing and the fat guy that is clearly not in shape but IS ahead of you a choice has to be made. Move forward? Or give up? In this moment, whatever choice you make, it will define who you are. As Deena Kastor (at least I think it was her) said in the movie The Spirit of the Marathon, "Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most, define us."

While no one can go through this experience for you, I can tell you from my own personal experience that it will change your life. Not unlike life; when we choose to meet the hard times head on instead of side stepping them, we learn so much about ourselves and view everything in a much different light. We see ourselves and those around us differently; we demand more from ourselves and have more compassionn toward others that are struggling. Recently I have had some emotional battles to take on and a friend of mine said to me, "Tara, You have got to attack this situation the same way you attack your marathon - head on! And Merry Christmas!" (As much as I hate to admit it, he was right and that was by far the best Christmas present ever.)

Kathrine Switzer is an inspirational, athletic woman. She was also the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with a bib. She shared her take on the marathon in the aforementioned movie like this: "Triumph over adversity, that's what the marathon is all about. Because you know that there is nothing in life that you can't triumph after that."

Ultimately, I didn't fly to DC to help a friend run a marathon; I flew to DC to watch a life change. I was not disappointed. Great job Amber!
"Be bold - Live life!" -Tara