I've debated about announcing this, let alone talking about it. Why, you may ask? Well, it's layered. But, really, I think it boils down to not wanting to fail. Not wanting to publicly state something, setting an expectation and then ... failing.
Again.
Yes, again.
This is a goal I set in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This is a goal I wasn't going to make this year, because I thought I was done making this goal. However, after a few experiences I won't go into here ... I'm here. And, if you haven't figured out what this goal is by now it's ... running a marathon.
I don't know why I am having an issue stating this goal, especially since I have previously done eleven road marathons, a handful of ultras (including one this past November) and shouldn't have a problem doing one. "Shouldn't" being the operative word here.
Truth be told, it's been a decade this October since I've done my last road marathon. The time distance alone is hard to grapple with because ... how? But, it's really been a DECADE since I ran the St. George Marathon waaay back in 2016.
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| Finishing my first St. George Marathon in 2012. |
The whole reason I ran the St. George Marathon was as a training run for my 50-mile race, Pony Express Trail Run. The month before I also used the Revel Big Cottonwood and Huntsville Marathons as training runs for the Pony Express 50. I won't bore you with how, but I treated each marathon differently in my approach either by starting slow, starting fast or focusing on time on my feet. My St. George Marathon approach was starting slow and then flying down the second half as fast as I could.
I was working toward eventually running a 100-mile race in 2017 or early 2018. But, that got derailed in April 2017 (specifically April 1, 2017, because I remember it feeling like a bad joke) when I sprained my ankle on a pothole while running down Emigration Canyon. Stupid me kept running on it, because I didn't think it was that bad and felt it would eventually go away. It never did ... thanks in large part to my stubbornness.
By late 2019 (yes over two years later) it became more and more painful to walk, let alone run. Despite going to a podiatrist the year before (and doing a few rounds of physical therapy) I had to go under the knife to fix a torn tendon fixed and get a bone spur shaved. The surgery was in December 2019 and I was supposed to be back to running by around March or so.
Then January 11, 2020 happened.
That's when I got hit by a car as a pedestrian. I'm not going to rehash that incident, but my right knee took the brunt of the impact. I'm lucky that my, still booted, ankle wasn't hurt (not to mention my young nephew who was with me) in the accident. But, the accident led to long rehab and litigation and it did a number on my health and running.
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| My friend, and first personal trainer, Kevin Weston and I before the St. George Marathon in 2014 or 2015? |
Since June 2023 I made a number of lifestyle changes, found creative ways to shed the weight without going straight to cardio first and since then I have lost and kept off 130lbs. I still have knee issues from the accident from time-to-time, but getting weight off has helped a lot. I may not regain a lot of my speed, but I can now run longer than 5-6 miles without the knee hurting, so I'll take that as a win.
As I mentioned above, I've had this goal really since 2023 when I decided to take my health back in my own hands and for one thing or another (like breaking my pinky toe a month before the race thanks to my cat) I haven't done it ... yet. And, I really wasn't planning on making the goal again this year, because I just didn't have the desire to run a marathon. The desire simply just wasn't there.
But, after a few experiences, realizations and trying to ignore it ... here I am. Here I am saying it out loud, committing to something I haven't done in a decade and just hoping and praying I stay healthy, focused and deliberate in each step moving toward that starting line.
So yeah ...
I'm running the St. George Marathon in October.
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