12 Lessons From 12 Marathons

Source: Glenn Geher

Marathon training is famously difficult. Not only do you have to have extremely high levels of self-discipline, but you have to be an expert on time management, carving out space for running somewhere between 30 to 60 miles a week for weeks on end. You need to be careful about what you eat. You often need to run in foul weather—often battling lightning storms, blizzards, and the like.

And if you're anything like me—a pretty average marathoner—the extrinsic rewards usually include nothing more than a participation medal and a T-shirt.

When we think about the questions as to why we run (a question that is addressed in detail in this 2014 Al-Jazeera English documentary that I was featured in, Why We Run, produced by the great Andy Richardson), it turns out that the answers tend to be both partial and nuanced at best.

Renowned Harvard anthropologist, Daniel Lieberman (see Liberman et al., 2020) argues, based on strong anatomical evidence, that humans have engaged in long-distance running for eons, largely as a strategy for hunting down prey animals that were faster than humans were but that had less stamina than did early humans.

These days, of course, so many of us live in highly evolutionarily mismatched conditions when it comes to exercise (see our book Positive Evolutionary Psychology for a treatise on this point). In short, under modern, industrialized conditions, exercise is now optional as opposed to necessary. This is why, for instance, Americans spend billions of dollars a year to join gyms and we still have among the highest rates of obesity on the planet. This is a marked contrast from the fact that obesity and its resultant health problems (such as Type 2 diabetes) are rarely seen in nomadic groups across the globe (see Wolf, 2010).

Given the above reasoning, it seems clear that marathon running in the modern, industrialized world has functions that, in important ways, vary from the functions that surrounded the evolutionary history of long-distance running in our species.

I happen to have a lot of experience when it comes to running long distances. In fact, as of today, I've completed 12 marathons in my life. I've completed marathons in four different decades of my life (my 20s, 30s, 40s, and, now, 50s). I've also published a bit on the topic (e.g., this Psychology Today piece From 5K to Marathon). From this backdrop, here is a list of 12 pieces of life guidance shaped by my long-standing experience with marathon running.

1. Hard work pays off.

As simple and cliché as this one might sound, when it comes to marathon running, it simply could not be more true. Want to fully internalize the impact of hard work on your life in the broadest sense? Give marathon running a go.

2. Time management is essential in life.

If you're like me and you have a full-time job and lots of extracurricular and familial obligations, building in time to effectively train for a marathon is no piece of cake. Developing the ability to fit such training into a busy modern life will help you with time management across all spheres.

3. Need for social support.

While I generally run solo during my training runs, I do belong to a small running club of three. We call ourselves Tres Trespassers (don't ask!) and we support each other in all kinds of ways when it comes to running and beyond. As is true in nearly all human endeavors, marathon running has a major community component. Even if you run with one friend once a month during your training, you'll find yourself appreciating and benefiting from this element of long-distance running.

4. Plan to get injured.

Bipedalism is, by the accounts of any biological anthropologist, a tough design. We evolved from pre-hominid apes with four limbs. From this ancestral backdrop, once our ancestors came down from the trees, bipedalism was pretty much the deal. People didn't spontaneously develop long tails to help provide balance and to protect their lower backs because evolution doesn't work that way—evolution works with what it has at hand. Because of this, so many of us are prone to issues such as lower-back pain, knee problems, and the like. I once trained for six weeks with a broken toe. Most recently, I threw my back out and couldn't bend over at all for about two weeks. If you run enough marathons, you will get injured. Dealing with your injuries carefully and following medical advice is, in fact, often a part of the process. This fact teaches us about patience as well as the use of best practices when it comes to our health.

5. Don't cheap out on gear.

While this rule is useful in many areas of life, it is particularly useful in marathon running. You'll need the right running shoes, no matter what they cost. Further, before you get seriously into it, you should see an expert at a high-end running store (e.g., a Nike or Saucony store) and learn what kind of runner you are, which will bear on what kinds of running shoes are best for you. In my mid-twenties, I found that I am an overpronator—my feet roll slightly inward with each step. If I do not use running shoes for overpronation, within a few days, my feet are in major pain and I am unable to run. The running shoes I use are about $120 a pair and last about seven months. You should also get some kind of hydration system, such as a Camelback. You can get a good one for less than $100 and let me say that, as someone who has, on at least one occasion, suffered heat exhaustion pretty severely, you truly had better prioritize hydration. Protect yourself from chafing as well. Aquafor is inexpensive and is good for this issue. Overall, long-distance running is a relatively inexpensive sport. So I say do what it takes to have the right gear.

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6. Don't worry about running "the big" races.

Some new marathoners have their sights set on New York City or on other large-scale marathons that pop up all over these days. Of my 12 marathons, only one was in a large city (Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego in 2001). It was crowded and complicated. I was in pain and I cramped up hard near the end. I didn't enjoy it at all. There are lots of smaller, rural races throughout each season. These races still include 26.2-mile courses and, to my mind, are preferable for various reasons. I know that people vary quite a bit on this one. But that said, don't worry if you don't get into the NYC marathon by lottery. If your goal is to run a marathon, you can find one. And you'll save yourself much in the way of logistics if you avoid New York and other large-city marathons.

Part 2 of this article includes the additional six lessons. Hope you find them useful.

Note: Big thanks to Shannon Guyton whose ideas very much helped shape the conceptualization of this piece—and who was an enormous support throughout the whole process. So appreciative.