You can't run a marathon these days without seeing a few people wearing red and yellow with the words Half Fanatic or Marathon Maniac emblazoned on their chests.
I've always been a little envious of the camaraderie these runners seem to have but have never really considered becoming one of them. One day, on a whim, I scoped out the Maniacs criteria and completely dismissed it as insanity.
3 marathons in 16 days!
45-51 marathons in 365 days!
insanity.
Fast forward to about a week ago, when after the race, I found myself in a conversation with a Maniac.
After she had found out I had just run my second marathon in 6 weeks, she commented that if I ran a race in February I could qualify for the Maniacs. I kind of brushed it off with my standard "I have three young kids yadda yadda yadda" and thought nothing about it.
4 days later, I was sitting on the couch when her words suddenly came back to me. I looked over at my husband and told him what she said and waited for the backlash. Surprisingly, he clicked a few buttons on his keyboard and said "here's a race in South Carolina". And that friends is how I find myself running my 3rd marathon in 90 days.
By the end of March, I should be a Marathon Maniac and by the end of this year, I should be a member of the 50 States Marathon Club - a full year before I had anticipated.
Goals are being met. New goals are coming into focus.
Now, next time someone tells me I'm crazy for running all these marathons, I can truthfully say I'm not crazy, I'm just a maniac!
previous post: Race Report: Callaway Gardens Marathon
This is awesome! I thought about becoming a Half Fanatic, but then I moved to Alaska and it's so hard to travel from here. Good luck in your qualifying marathon!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm excited and totally freaked out lol. It's been surreal going from 1 marathon a year to possibly 4!
Delete