Boston Marathon Essay

What if I told that there is a battle going on right now. Do you hear it? An omnipresent endeavor fought virtually everywhere on the planet. A battle that belongs to a much deeper, longer, one could say primordial war. One where each and every one of us are “soldiers” in. However this battle isn’t fought with guns, this battle isn’t even fought with swords. For this battle plays itself out daily, consistently, since time in memoriam right in between our ears. Religion calls this ancient battle the fight between the flesh and the spirit, perhaps in a broader sense the struggle between good and evil. A toil for your “soul.” On the mental battlefield of one’s mind.

Boston Marathon footage

Every year thousands of runners take to the streets

Second only to its passive counterpart: walking. What happens to the body when one runs 26.2 miles (42.1 km) the official distance of a Marathon?

First and foremost most marathons take place on concrete, in what is known as road running. Given this fact the stress on one’s joints, specifically one’s knees, ankles, and metatarsals are paramount. The constant battering with every stride takes its toll over the course of the endeavor. The activation of both fast and slow twitch muscles on one’s quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves introduces a new level of stimulation and fatigue to the legs. Something the body almost never experiences. With added stress fractures being common on runner’s shines and feet. And both your heart and kidneys working overtime to keep the machine that is your body running. A marathon is one of the most difficult tasks we put the human body through. Not to mention the mental battle taking place within your mind with every stride.
Now, imagine if you will, running a marathon without prior experience. And upon completing the race running it back again 2.8 more times, all under 24 hours. This is an ultra-marathon and needless to say, a seemingly impossible