I never thought of myself as a runner until recently. Since I was little, I have always been known as the “swimmer”. Understandably. I started competitive swimming at the age of 5 and continued until I turned 18, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to stop. I never thought that I would do any competitive sports ever again, but here I am about to run my first half marathon next month.
You probably have questions, and to be honest, so do I. Why would someone who swore off any athletic activity willingly choose to do a difficult race? The only answer I could come up with right now would be for me to explain the context of what this past year has been like. To be honest, there are no words that I could use to articulate.
The only word I could use would be whiplash.
\On March 2nd, 2024, one week before my last spring break as an undergraduate student, I got a phone call from my dad explaining that my mother had been rushed to the ER. Not even 48 hours later, my sister and I were rushing home from Denison University to be with my parents. On March 5th, my mom had open heart surgery.
The week that followed was arguably the most stressful week of my life. My mother fully recovered, and my sister and I made it back to Denison University to finish the remainder of our senior year. Not even 10 months later, on January 3rd, 2025, my father unexpectedly passed away. What a way to start the year right?
To witness both parents having health crises in my early twenties (I just turned 23) is something that I never expected, and wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Hence, the use of the word whiplash. The rapid, unexpected movement from one major life event to another, not even recognizing all the other important events and aspects of life. I’ve been trying to catch my breath, and hope that nothing else will collapse during the moment.
So with the context, you ask again, why are you running a half marathon? My answer to that would be: if I can run a half marathon, I can do anything. Almost 14 weeks of training later, here I am coming out on the other side of everything. I can wholeheartedly say that training for this half marathon has forced me to reconnect with my body and stop to enjoy the life all around me. Because in our moments of suffering, we forget how much we love living.
It's true, I love living, and so should you. Amid this chaotic world around us, I hope you can recognize and enjoy the little things and acknowledge that every day is a treasure. There are truly no bad days, just bad moments in a day.
And for those of you who still have questions about that half marathon I'm about to run, I'll leave with one of my favorite quotes from Coach Chris Bennett, a Nike Running Global head coach. “This is about running. This is not about running.”
Maren McIlvaine-Newsad is a Macomb resident and a Class of 2024 graduate of Denison University.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of TSPR or its license holder, Western Illinois University.
Diverse viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged.