A Complete Stranger Forced Me to Finish My First Marathon

And in the process taught me what running is all about

I was never supposed to be a runner. Weighing in at 245 lbs., I was big, strong, and bulky. I was a weightlifter. And I could bench press nearly two times my body weight. Eventually I reached a point where I even started teaching others how to get in better shape.

But when my doctor told me the news, I was in shock.

At that point, weightlifting was my life. I loved the feeling of crushing a personal record or mastering a new exercise. It’s what kept me sane. It was my outlet. And to be honest, it’s what got me through my parents’ divorce.

“What the hell am I gonna do now?”

After a couple of weeks of pouting and slight depression, I finally picked myself up and decided I was going to find a new outlet. My plan was to run a marathon.

With my longest run being just a couple miles, I started my journey with very little experience. Nonetheless, I set off on my first run a couple of weeks after nerve damage left me unable to lift my arm above my shoulder.

That run went horribly, and I barely made it a half mile before I was forced to stop. But, I kept at it, week after week and month after month. Eventually I got in good enough shape to where I felt confident enough to sign up for the Dallas Marathon.

The next 4 months I dedicated solely to training for the 26.2 miles. I followed a strict training plan and implemented the mindset I learned from weightlifting into my preparation. When I finally lined up on race day, I was in great shape — both mentally and physically. I was ready to tackle yet another physical challenge, although I wasn’t aware of how different this one would be.

As I started the race, a stream of emotions flashed through my head. From my nerve damage fueled depression to lining up at the start of a marathon — it was all…

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