26.2 Miles--Noah

 

If you had told my younger self that I was going to run anything more than 2 miles, I

would have thought that you were crazy. Fast-forward to March 19th, 2023, lining up with about

22,000 other people, on a very cold and somewhat rainy day…to run the world renowned Los

Angeles Marathon. 26.2 miles of pain and suffering through the streets of LA, all just for a gold

medal…right? I was never really a runner growing up, the only sport I loved to play was the

game of basketball. I played basketball with my four other brothers and my dad, any other sport

outside of basketball was considered uncharted territory. Basketball was all my brothers and I

ever knew. During the beginning of high school I started to shy away from basketball and I

needed something to do. I took a look around to see what interested me. I needed something

challenging, something that took me out of my comfort zone, something to focus on outside of

school, so I took up running. I started around the end of junior year. That summer I ran the

Fontana Half Marathon (13.1 miles) which exceeded my expectations for the sport. Then at the

beginning of senior year, I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) through the beautiful streets of Santa Monica.

Ecstatic, I wanted to run something that was bigger and better. A few months later, in January of

2023, I decided to register myself for the Los Angeles Marathon after months of debating.

Through all the early 5 A.M. runs; whether long, short, fast, or pushing myself to the

extent that I almost puked, the day I had anticipated arrived. I woke up in my brother's condo in

Anaheim, my alarm went off at 4 A.M, and it was finally time to get ready. The race started at 7

A.M. and I still needed to drive with traffic to the starting line, which was located at the Dodgers

Stadium. Everything was quick. I took a cold shower, ate a light breakfast, and drank a huge

black coffee. I had all my gear out which consisted of my watch, a light tank top, some lululemon

shorts, socks, some Nike ZoomX Invincibles, and a running hat. I was locked in. My two

brothers Aiden and Isaiah also got ready and we left at 5 A.M. While driving there, I was

mentally preparing myself for the utmost pain I was going to face for the next 8 hours. When we

arrived at the parking lot, my brothers left me with powerful words of encouragement that I could

think back to when I needed an extra push during my run and we parted ways. I arrived around

6:20 A.M. to the runners drop off area which gave me plenty of time to take in some liquids,

warm-up, and of course use the bathroom. Eventually, 7 A.M. arrived and 22,000 other racers

including myself headed towards the start line. At last, the race started and I was off.

Miles 1 through 8 didn’t feel bad at all, in that time frame everything was going by quite

fast. Through those miles, I was just running and observing the beautiful landmarks that I had

never seen before. Passing through Chinatown, the LA City Hall, and Echo Park, I truly felt

grateful to be there. I also saw one of my best friends, Jofre, at the mile 3 water station. I

couldn’t believe it…one of my friends came all the way from Fontana just to see me run. I find it

beautiful in showing up and being present, I think it can make a huge difference. Miles 8 through

14 were quite challenging, I started to feel my legs and feet fatigue a little bit. Although I was

slightly hurting, the spectators, volunteers, and loud music pushed me through. I saw many

ridiculous posters, heard many cowbells ring, and heard different types of loud music. Strangers

even cheered me on as I ran through the streets of LA. Miles 14 through 20 were tough. My legs

felt like jello and I started to cramp in random places all over my legs. I told myself that if I really

wanted to finish this race, I actually have to get over myself and push through all the pain and

suffering I was feeling at the moment. Miles 20 through 26 were honestly terrible. There was a

combination of running and walking at that point and I felt like I was going to puke. I started to

tear up because everything was just hurting so much, I have never felt so much physical pain

until this moment in time. Although it was hurting so bad, I had to push through because I was

so close. At long last, I reached the 0.2 miles mark of the Los Angeles Marathon. I turned a

corner and soon saw a huge banner saying “Finish”. I soon understood what I came to know

that I was finally arriving at the finish line. I told myself to finish strong…so I did. What happened

next felt like a movie. As I was running, a huge downpour of rain occurred. Then, I heard a

familiar yet a loud set of voices that screamed my name. It was my mom and my 3 other

brothers, who were cheering me on to finish. I crossed the finish line absolutely drenched from

the rain, and a lady came up to me with a nice little golden medal that said “Finisher”.