Finisher of 42.195Km

What drives thousands of people to wake up at ungodly hours of the night and scramble down to the Esplanande just to subject themselves to hours of gruelling torture just to cover 42.195km?

A distance at this day and age, too ridiculous to even contemplate and furthermore to cover on foot. Then why? What is the need to pay them 55 dollars to for a placing in this torture? I can't answer that question for there were 40,000 reasons behind the 40,000 participants.. Some ran for the love of running, some for friendship, some to accompany their loved ones and some, just to kill boredom.

I had my own. I have covered half marathons... I needed to know my physiological capabilities and limits. I needed to know that my heart and will is much stronger than my body. I needed to know that i won't quit unnecessarily. I needed to know that i won't be supressed that easily. ... I needed to know that who i am is not confined to being flesh and blood.

Valuable lessons were learnt.

Wheather was merciful, I thank HIM for that. Had a good start and a smooth run till the 27th km. I was happy about running non stop till 27... the longest i ever ran nonstop was 20km. That is when my knee started to cave in. Wanted to continue running but pain was getting sharper. I decided to stop and walk. Contemplated throwing the race but i couldnt. I started something and i wanted to finish it. Badly. Never had so many bad cramps on my muscles before.. I never had a cramp on my toes, i do not even know how to stretch my toes.Can it even be stretched?

The run taught me more than what i had expected. I ran with pride, with my head held high.. Exhaustion taught me to be humble when i could no longer keep upright and i walked with my head towards the ground. I wanted to finish the race in the shortest time possible but the daunting distance taught me patience and perseverance. I learnt the value of sharing for hadn't the stranger shared his power gel with me, i would have struggled on with more pain. I learnt the value of helping when another stranger helped me to stretch my calves. I was taught that a kind word can go a long way ( thanks Anthony for spurring me on). I learnt the value of bond when strangers were encouraging one another to keep at it. The run taught me to focus on the task at hand and not be distracted. Preparing for this run taught me the value of dedication .I learnt that pain is temporary but achievement is forever.

Most importantly i learnt that nothing is possible without HIS blessings.... perfect wheather in the month of December, cool breeze , miraculous sustenance of knees , to put it short and sweet, EVERYTHING.....

Now tell me, wasn't all these worth the meagre 55 that i paid?