Perhaps not by coincidence, the mascot of the Boston Athletic Association is none other than a unicorn.
When I began running seriously, I had two ultimate goals I wanted to accomplish: (1) complete a 100 mile race and (2) qualify for the Boston Marathon.
In 2014, I finished the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile trail run. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done. Never had my body and soul known such fatigue...yet I finished and it has always been a pillar of my self confidence that I ran 100 miles.
The Boston Marathon is prestigious for two reasons (really for many reasons, but I’ll focus on two). First, it is one of the oldest marathons in the country, having been held annually since 1897. Second, unlike most races, runners cannot simply sign up to run Boston--they must qualify. To qualify, a runner must complete a certified marathon in under a given time (based on age and gender). What happens when you tell someone they can’t participate in an event? They want it even more! Boston is special because not everyone gets to compete.
In October of 2014, I attempted to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I trained and ran my heart out but finished in 3:38...28 minutes too slow for the coveted BQ (Boston Qualifier). I don’t know what was more discouraging, the fact that I missed the qualifier by more than a minute per mile (which in a marathon is a lot), or the fact that I gave it my all and still missed it. By the time I finished that race, I had multiple stress fractures and had to spend months recovering. I was convinced that I could not have run any faster and that I simply did not have the speed to qualify.
But unicorns are always around, whether or not we chose to chase them and after ignoring this particular unicorn for so long, it’s allure began to call my name again. Maybe a different course, maybe a better training program...Maybe I should try again.
So it's come to this...a blog about chasing unicorns.
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