Marathon training and running a marathon are great resilience building exercises. I ran my first one in 2019, and I was initially intimidated by the long runs – which increased in mileage over 18 weeks. Also, it was hard to prepare for the distance in the blazing Texas heat. As time has moved on, I have developed and refined strategies to cross the finish line. It takes a supreme dedication and resilience to accomplish the goal of completing a marathon.
Why resilience?
When accomplishing a challenge like running a marathon, you are building resilience. Every mile makes you stronger. As runners, we often encounter those days when we hit a stumbling block during training yet we keep going.
Women’s Running posits that several characteristics build resilience in running, one being that we can reframe bad circumstances. This is especially true as mileage builds. There will be times when a run does not go according to plan. By reframing the situation, you are able to find strategies to keep running and find ways to move forward.
Strategies learned from Marathon training
One thing I have learned from marathon training is to rely on training groups. For each of my marathons, I have trained with a group that helped keep me motivated and bounce back from struggles. After running the Marine Corps Marathon last October and encountering my worst marathon time to date, I also asked a coach to help me find the love of running again. It is so easy to throw in the towel when things go bad.
You also look at where things can be improved. For my spring marathon, it was having a coach guide me in creating a flexible training plan. I also looked at my nutrition to prepare for the demands of training and racing.
Little did I know, this built the resilience needed to complete a marathon.
While I don’t know if I will be running another marathon in the future, I do know that the lessons of resilience gained from marathon training will carry with me throughout life.