Why run a Marathon?

The typical question. 

Have heard it countless times, and the more you try to give a satisfying answer to the person who asks, the more frustrated you get. Face it, people who don't get it will never get it, unless they do it themselves. 

I just saw this person on Facebook minutes ago, who really annoyed me. 

He was actually scolding Standard Chartered and labeled them as "Bastards" for leaving his name out of the slot. When asked why, his response was that he did not went to collect his race pack on the spot.

Come on you dumb MOFO, if you don't bother to collect your race pack, you should very well know the consequences and that would be your disqualification in the race. And now you CB you go blame the organisers? How freaking dumb are you? He is the type of pimp/clubber/good-for-nothing who love to complain about lame shit and take the easy(AND LAZY) route instead of the tougher one. Bloody hell, who gives a shit about people like him anyway? And in the first place, those who are sincere about completing a marathon FOR THE RIGHT PURPOSES should be diligent enough to make sure they prepare well, they collect the race pack on time, they check for updates and stuff. I am not assuming, as I've heard that this particular guy is only joining the marathon for fun and for the sake of it. HOW PATHETIC, YOU AIMLESS DIMWIT. 

Well, that's just some entertainment. 

I think I've combed the entire internet looking for marathon/running videos, and seen the bulk of it. It's strong, inspiring stuff, it really is. But I've seen enough. I just wanna go on this Sunday. WHY am I running a Marathon? 

Am I doing it for fitness and health? Am I doing it for glory? Am I doing it to test my mind? Am I doing it to experience the different emotions that I'm gonna feel? Well you could say it's a bit of all of them. But mostly it would be to experience life itself. 

And sadly, that's what most people don't understand. That the Marathon is very similar to life. You start a new journey as you sign up for the run, you go through all the tough backstage unglamorous preparation that nobody credits you for, you feel the pre-race jitters and anxiety the night before, you discipline yourself to keep training, eat and sleep properly, you sacrifice time and effort, you feel obstracized when people see you as a freak for doing this crazy stuff, you feel the excitement when 60,000 runners gather at the start point, you feel the fresh morning air and thank God to be alive, you feel the adrenaline rush when you course through the road with thousands of supporters cheering for you, you feel pain and fatigue when you reach mile 20 or hills, you force yourself back up to reach the finishing line, you feel a sense of euphoria and relief as you cross the finishing line, you feel proud when you receive the finisher's medal and tee, you throw yourself into the beautiful atomosphere of the Marathon. 

And isn't Life something similar to that? 

It's not just about senseless running, over long, endless distances, people. "Why torture yourself", they ask. 

YOU are torturing your body by missing out on LIFE. 

QOTD: I couldn't believe I was there, even though I knew I would be there.