But why???
What is the point of doing this? What exactly am I trying to prove or achieve? Who am I trying to impress? Isn’t the daily hectic hustle and bustle of Medicine and 2 young children enough? Am I bored? Am I just not happy or satisfied with what I’ve got? Why do I want to do this to myself? Whyyy???
My life, thus far, has been one big ‘To Do List’ coupled with ‘Flow Charts.’ Places to visit. Visa applications. Med school goals. Home improvement. Things to buy. There’s even a project list of various projects. Deep down, I do enjoy logistical challenges and project planning. And come on, who doesn’t enjoy ticking boxes of accomplished tasks? I plan. I execute. I tick.
As for running… I had already signed up to the Richmond Runfest (marathon) when I stumbled upon the Abbott World Marathon Majors and the big fat dinner plate of a medal you get when you run all 6. I am not sure when the exact point was but I thought to myself…
My old life goal: ‘I will finish Med School and become a Doctor.’
And I had already accomplished that, ticked all the boxes (but there’s always more beyond finishing med school – training posts and much later, working your way towards becoming a Consultant). After some brief reflection, now that one life goal has been accomplished, it was time to set a new one – a new adventure to embark on, a new opportunity to squeeze more out of me, a new challenge from which I can learn new lessons from. And here is what I came up with…
My new life goal: ‘I will run all 6 Abbott World Marathon Majors by the time I am 40.’
40 is a bit arbitrary. I was 36 when I set this goal, I’m 37 now. 40 sounded like a nice number and I had to consider the chances of getting a lottery place (more on that later). I thought to myself – well, I will just apply for a place every year, apart from Boston – no lottery places. And as if by magic, right when I had set my new life goal, Entry to the Tokyo Marathon 2022 opened! I applied of course (more on this later). I also paid attention to all the dates when Non-Guaranteed Entries for the others opened and I applied for them too.
Well…I think the universe heard me… because I got places in 3 out of 5 I entered – Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago (2022)! Not London and New York City. However, Tokyo was deferred to 2023 due to the Covid backlog and I had to defer Berlin and Chicago because I was waiting for my Indefinite Leave to Remain to be approved. Then most recently, on my second lottery attempt, I got a place for London!
So oddly, things seem to be on track and 2023 is going to be a big year. New boxes to tick.
Side note: I went on my first long run this past week. 12 miles. It’s reassuring that I am still smiling after 12 miles.
And we went for a walk in the woods.
Reach for the Seven Stars 