What's Said on the Trail Stays on the Trail

“There is no way I am ever going to do a marathon!” Those were the first words out of my mouth to my husband as I crossed the finish line of my very first half marathon in Moab. Never in a million years did I think I would ever want to run a marathon. I mean, why would anybody say “I want to put my body through 26.2 miles of pain and agony.” But as it happens with most runners, I developed what I consider a mental illness and for some completely irrational reason I decided I HAD to run a marathon just so I could say that I had done one. Maybe I just wanted the bragging rights.

It was then that I turned to my friends for help. Luckily for me, I live in a wonderful neighborhood full of runners with my same mental illness. I knew that I would not be able to train for a marathon alone – and whenever I needed to go for a run, there was always someone willing to hit the road with me. So my friends and I spent countless hours on the road training for the Top of Utah Marathon. A lot of marathoners complain about the training aspect of marathons. But as it turned out, the hours I spent training was so fun! Don’t get me wrong, it wasn't ALL fun, we had our share of challenges. Like the time we got caught in a thunderstorm and had to turn back, and the time my friend and I were both recovering from being sick and our bodies just couldn’t do it, and the time my friend thought she saw a skunk which turned out to be a rock, jumped behind me as she pushed me towards the “skunk”, all the while cursing and screaming. Is it a coincidence that all of that happened with you, Nita???? But all the pain was worth it. I now consider my running partners some of my very best friends.

When a 15 mile run is staring you in the face and you know you will be running side-by-side these women for the next 2 or 3 hours, you will pull out the most entertaining stories you have just to pass the time – the longer the story, the better. How many times did we start a story by saying “Now remember ladies, what’s said on the trail stays on the trail.” Like that doesn’t go without saying. We quickly learned that no topic was off-limits. When I run alone, I have to play a mental game with myself just to keep myself going. But my friends are so entertaining that time seemed to fly by and I hardly even noticed the blisters forming on my feet.

For me, the highlight of running a marathon was not crossing the finish line, although I consider that one of my hugest accomplishments. The highlight for me was the countless hours I spent training with my friends. Years from now, when I’m home alone doing laundry or vacuuming or being completely lost in thought doing whatever, I don’t think it will be the memory of crossing that finish line that will bring a smile to my face. It will be the memory of being sacrificed to a rock-skunk that will make me laugh out loud. And for that, I now say I hope I get to run many more marathons.