5 Awesome Similarities Between Running Your Life and Running a Marathon

“Life is not a race, it’s a marathon.” Sounds cliché, huh?

Several times have I heard this line being uttered by people. Not only by ordinary people but by runners and marathoners alike. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the more I hear it, the more that it doesn’t reveal its real value, even more so, its real meaning.

As I was doing my usual running routine last night, I thought about it.

It did make sense.

You see, as you get to run a lot, there are a lot of things that come into your mind.

Not only that this so-called ‘cliche’ apply to life, but there are also several things that compare life to that of a marathon.

Allow me to chunk it down.

1. The Earth is Your Playground

The earth is your playground

I have nothing against any other sports. Aside from running, I also love playing basketball.

However, as opposed to other sports, running is by par one of those best sports—not that I know of— where you can just do your thing practically anywhere. I mean literally.

The earth is your playground.

Just put those pair of shoes and off you go! Oh, and you can go barefoot as well. 😉

2. You Don’t Have to Compete with Anyone

you don't have to compete Oh yes, I hear you. “There’s always competition in life”, you say? But hey, life doesn’t have to be that way. We’re supposed to help each other. We are all in this together for life.

Back to my main point.

There is really no competition involved in running a marathon. You don’t compete with anyone for any reason.

Sure, at some point, we need to be competitive for the sake of improving our PRs(personal record) and everything.

But all of which solely involve ourself and not others. This is purely being competitive in the healthiest way possible.

3. You Set Your Own Pace

you set your own pace

Success is a completely relative term. For others, success can mean a different thing.

Marathon is a sport wherein it is you who dictate your pace. Same goes with life. Your success depends on your pace.

In that sense, it is only you who can set your pace to meet that goal you’ve always been wanting to make. Depending on what goal that is, you may set a fast pace or a slow pace.

It’s all up to you. The main goal is to make it to the finish line of your life.

4. You Decide which Path to Take

You decide which path to take

In training for marathons, there are different courses that you can take.

You can go by the trails or the ultras. You can choose to hit the road. You can go for any of these for as long as it works for your advantage.

Just like in life, we can always choose which path to take. We may be heading towards different directions but we’re all accustomed to finishing our own race.

5. There will Always be Crossroads Along the Way

There will always be crossroads along the way

In the pursuit of achieving your dreams, there will always be bumpy roads along the way. These crossroads can mean the difference between making it or breaking it.

In marathon, crossing that finish line is not as easy as pie. It takes months of training and hard work to be able to make it. You will have your greatest highs and your difficult lows.

You will have to go through an uphill battle.

There will always be hardships that can either make you or break you.

But the real question is, will you still go for it? How determined are you in setting your feet just to make it to the finish line?

Will you get intimidated by those people who are already way ahead of you?

As the cliché goes, life is not a race, it’s a marathon. At the proper time, we will all reap the harvest if we only persist. If we don’t give up.

Just take it one step at a time.

Yes, you may fail. You may commit mistakes, but that doesn’t mean you are a failure. It only means one thing. And that is, you just did your part.

And allow me to tell you this, you are doing the right thing.

At the end of the day, it’s all about that desire to reach a certain goal. It doesn’t matter which path you take. It doesn’t matter how many crossroads you’ve been through. It doesn’t matter what pace you set yourself into.

All that matters is how you run it.

Push on! There is nothing sweeter than making it until the end.

See you at the finish line!

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March Nacino

March Nacino is known as “The Radical Runner” in the running community. He basically loves to join marathons. When he’s not training for his next big race, he works as a freelance Digital Marketing Specialist helping his clients with their Digital Marketing needs. Follow March at theradicalrunner.com.