Although I have never been a particularly keen runner myself, I have always found marathons fascinating. Not only the pure athletic side of things but even more so the mental aspects: What motivates the runners in the first place and how they keep going in training as well as on the day of the event. I think that the answer is in meaning- particularly for the many amateur runners. Reading through some of the amazing stories of the runners of last Sunday's London marathon, they usually have another reason to start other than just pursuing a personal athletic achievement: they run because they want to connect to their past, or to people they are/were close to, or because they want to make the world a little bit better by raising money for their chosen charity (which is usually also has a special meaning for them because of their own life story or that of a friend or relative).
There were quite a few remarkable runners in last Sunday's marathon- in case that you have missed some of the inspiring stories, you can have a look here:
As the quotes are still accumulating I would like to share another one with you before the next post is coming out on Friday:
'He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.'
Friedrich Nietzsche
As explained in last week's post, this quote is definitely valid for life, as finding meaning makes us more resilient. It surely therefore also applies to marathons: who has a good reason to run, can also bear the painful race.
I hope that you all have a good week until Friday, when we are going to have a look at gratitude and how it can increase our happiness.
Petra
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