The Authentic Eclectic

Life is a Marathon, Whether You Run Or Not

Every mile is a metaphor

Dodger Stadium, March 2015, L.A. Marathon starting line (photo by author — all rights reserved)

I run.

I’ve run nearly 20 marathons and countless half-marathons. Pre-lockdown, I was running three half-marathons and one full (26.2 mile) marathon a year, dragging my whole family to races all over the state of California. Just ask Jessie.

Dog is my Pilot

If this makes me sound like one of those crazy people who laces up and hits the road every day, then sorry to disappoint, because I’m not that person. I don’t really get the “runner’s high;” I’ve probably felt euphoric one total mile in the hundreds I’ve run. The rest have been misery, or, at best, meh. But I’ll take meh or even misery, because that’s not why I run.

Not me (photo by author-all rights reserved)

But I do run, and I finish every race I start.

I finish, though my pace is glacial. My personal record (“PR” in runner-speak) was my…