Marathons are taxing races both on your body and on your mind. You can train for weeks, but the physical strain of so much running is still going to be a major shock to your system. When your legs are wooden and tired and your breathing is labored, the only thing between you quitting and finishing is your mental strength. A good runner must learn how to fight through the pain of draining races and finish without exception. After all, wanting to quit is ordinary; wanting to quit and pushing through is extraordinary.

Even David Thomas felt the urge to quit when he ran his first marathon in Melbourne. Despite feeling comfortable for the first part of the race, near the middle Thomas began cramping badly and taking frequent stops for water and stretching. Even though everything in his body was telling him to stop, his Never Say Die mentality pushed him through to the 30K mark. Once he hit that point, as Thomas put it, I cruised home.

Thomas ended up taking fourth in that race, and his achievement illustrates a pivotal point about running. No matter how tired or drained or beaten you feel, never pull out of a race. Unless you're injured or putting yourself in a physically compromising situation finish the race. Walk across the finish line if you have to, but finish the race. If you quit halfway, you're always going to remember that race as a disappointment. But if you drag yourself across the end point, that's something that nobody can take away from you. Regardless of what place you finish, you can always be proud of the fact that you did indeed complete what you set out to do.

In this way, racing can be understood in two terms. There is the obvious race against you and the other runners wherein everybody is vying for the top spot. But there is another more important aspect to racing, and that's all about you versus you.