From Dream to Finish Line: Joining the 0.01% of People Who Run Marathons
- Joseph Dean Anderson
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
In fall of 2024, I realized I'd been running for about 11 years. I started jogging post-undergrad, having done little to no exercise since high school, drinking far too much, and taking certain ADD medications far too recreationally.
That first jog in 2013? Could barely go half a mile, and my chest burned like an incinerator.
Over the years as I began to break my bad habits, I got better. I started to be able to run multiple miles with difficulty, but not impossibility.
In the past 3 years, I started to do real, organized races. I ran the Lincoln, Nebraska Half Marathon with my dad in 2022 (for those who may not know yet, I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and my family still lives there).
Completing that race stirred something in me - and I knew I'd be back.
Fast forward to the fall 2024 Queens Half Marathon, which I completed at a new personal record of 1 hour 39 minutes. After I told my aunt who is an avid exerciser, she wanted to know when my full marathon was going to happen.
At her encouragement, and the encouragement of my brother who had just started his own running journey, I signed up. I said, "Hey bro, if you do the half marathon, I'll do the full." And to both of our joy (and some dismay) we agreed.
The holidays ended, and January hit. That meant roughly four full months until the May 4th, 2025 Lincoln Marathon.
Through the Atlantic New York cold, I bundled up and ran in everything from -10 degree wind chills, to snow, to freezing rain, to regular rain that feels like it's freezing you, just to get these miles in. After all, I'd paid the money (well, my aunt paid it. She said, "as long as you do it, it's nothing out of your pocket") and had the obligation from both aunt and brother.
Not mentioning the fact I was working 42 hours a week and also rehearsing and performing a play while training, this was probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
Running for 3 hours, 30 minutes, and 25 second (which is a great time for a first marathon, if I may say so myself) is a feat. It's also strange to be running for so, so long. But crossing that finish line, seeing my family at the end, feeling the pain in my whole body, and knowing what I'd accomplished was all worth it.
I'm now in 0.01% of the population that has run a marathon. And that's pretty damn cool.
And when's the next one? Well, let's heal up fully, first.
