Finishing is Winning

In what follows, I give a summary of the compelling memoirs of a friend of mine who happens to be a marathon runner. His story emphasizes the importance of finishing any project one starts with or one launches. We tend to brag about doing things, and too often we quit with half the job done. This story is a real proof of strength of will and determination. I would like to emphasize here that I myself am not a marathoner and could hardly run 26.2 meters, let alone a marathon of 26.2 miles!

"I am a slow walker, but I never walk back." — Abraham Lincoln

Here is the Summary:

I had been running since I was a teen, doing 5Ks and some longer races, even winning a few. I was occasionally asked if I had ever run a marathon. My answer then was that I did not like running really long distances. But I suppose I heard the question so many times, I grew tired of it and wanted to say yes. I registered in a marathon in my hometown without telling a soul. Even my family was not informed because I did not know whether I would be able to complete the distance. Still, I was hopeful if not confident of finishing it in a decent time. The race went surprisingly well. My time was 2 hours, 48 minutes and 2 seconds (2:48:02), and my friends were all surprised that I had run and come in at such a time. That was the first of what turned out to be 33 marathons I ran.

            One of the things of which I am most proud is that I have competed in between 550 and 600 races, and never have I dropped out. Even when I was feeling bad and in the process of earning an unimpressive time, I always slogged my way to the finish line. Once, while running a marathon, I was having some genuine soreness in my legs as early as the fifth mile. It was much worse by 10, by which time I had decided I would give it up at the halfway mark, where my family and friends would be waiting. But when I got there, they were all smiling and cheering, and I simply could not do it. I waved back and soldiered on painfully. I stopped so often, I knew my time would be terrible, but I was determined to get to that finish line. It had taken me 3 hours and 9 minutes, by far the worst time of my entire “marathoning” career. Still, despite it all, I was proud that I managed to get from start to finish. This was a huge character test, and I had passed.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." — Confucius

I had signed up to run in other marathons later that year, but injuries prevented me from running. I finally had to admit the obvious: My marathon career had come to an end. I still ran in 5Ks and 10Ks, but time had offered the perspective to realize what those 33 marathons meant to me. I have had some pretty wonderful moments with the shorter races, but the marathons I ran were the peak of my rather modest athletic life. Indeed, they were builders of character with moments and sometimes hours in the crucible when failure and success were both possible. And if, as has been said, finishing is winning, then I had won 33 times.

Finishing-is-winning is common wisdom shared among marathon runners. Running a marathon can simulate many aspects of our personal lives and careers because it includes the key ingredients: the will to start, the perseverance to continue and the joy of finishing. And finally, on judgment day we will be judged on what we have finished—and thus won.

“If forced to choose between something being perfect and being done, remember leaders get stuff done.” ―Matt Monge

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