Even right now, 1 week later, thinking about marathon day gets me a little teary-eyed – and I didn’t even run it! I always walk away from the day so inspired – you have people from all around the world in all different shapes and sizes committing to run 26.2 miles; they are not deterred by the cold, the hunger and thirst brewing inside of them or by the fatigue. There is a reason that Pheidippides died after running 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Greeks had won the war – running that distance is incredibly hard!

I began to think about why the Marathon impacts me so much – there are many inspirational things that happen in the world – people volunteer at the soup kitchen serving the homeless, parents welcome babies into the world and scientists achieve new frontiers in medicine – but none of these experiences seem to impact me as much as the marathon.

The more I thought about it, I realized that the marathon means so much to me because it demonstrates humans’ capacity for change and connection – all the topics I love and we have been frameworking over the past 2 months. In today’s post, we’ll review some of the key topics of the blog through the lens of the marathon (aka the sparknotes version)

No one wakes up one day and can just run 26.2 miles. All the runners spend hours training before the race, increasing their mileage each week. As the runners train, they can see how putting in effort – i.e., consistently running – allows them to improve their pace and distance, demonstrating growth mindset; in a fixed mindset you believe that your abilities are static and once you hit your maximum, you cannot improve – this is like runners getting down on themselves for not being able to run 26.2 miles during their first training run and thinking that whatever distance and pace they run during their first training run is all they are capable of.

I find that physical activity is one of the best ways to shift from a fixed to a growth mindset because you can easily see the transformation in your body and your athletic ability; and the transformation in your body and athletic ability serves as inspiration for how you can transform in other parts of your life.

Recently, I’ve been feeling a bit stuck. I decided to change my workout routine and go to Orange Theory Fitness. Even within 2 weeks, I can see my rowing pace has improved. This experience has shifted my mood to focus on growth opportunities in other areas of my life, as opposed to simply assessing / judging myself based on where I am today.

All of the marathon runners I’ve talked to select either Saturday or Sunday to complete their long runs. By doing so, they are creating a habit loop to sustain positive behaviors. The cue is the day of the week. The cue propels them into a routine – running a long distance. The routine ultimately leads to a reward – the dopamine release from exercising. As a reminder, if you want to develop new habits, create a cue and reward to support execution of the routine.

Given the training schedule, marathon runners also have to give up some of their regular habits to ensure they can do their training runs. For example, runners might give up drinking and going out late on Friday or Saturday. For marathon runners, their cue – Friday or Saturday night – is still going to exist. However, instead of drinking and going out, they might opt for a different routine, like watching a movie or having a low-key sober dinner with a friend. After completing this routine, they still get the release of dopamine they would get from their regular habit of going out drinking and staying up late and this routine supports their longer-term goal of running a marathon. As a reminder, if you want to stop a habit, the cues are likely difficult to break – so you’ll need to replace the routine and maintain the same reward.

As a reminder, when we are being mindful, we consider things based on the context. In any other scenario, running 26.2 miles would cause pain for runners. But, because it is Marathon day and everyone is cheering, runners discomfort may become muted, which allows them to press on until the finish line.

Runners perception of the race varies based on how the peak and the end of the race went. One of my friends said the race was brutal. He started off too fast and slowed down significantly by the end of the race. His memory of the race is colored by the end of the race - when his legs were fatigued. Another friend paced himself much better and remembers the peak of the marathon as he turned from the Bronx into Manhattan and saw a swarm of New Yorkers cheering him on and welcoming him into the final leg of the race. Because the peak of the marathon was so positive for him, he has a much better perception of the race and is already planning on signing up for next year’s race.

The pacers have to keep a constant pace throughout the entire race. It sounds like the most difficult job because you can’t run a little faster when you’re feeling inspired by the cheering crowd or slow down a little when you need a rest. In other words, pacers don’t have a choice. As we remember from Barry Schwartz research, having too many options can overwhelm us, but having no options can lead to declining motivation 

One of my favorite things about the marathon is that not only do runners’ friends and family come out to support them, but local community members come out too. If you’re smart enough to write your name on your shirt, random strangers, including me, will yell out what an awesome job you’re doing. It’s a nice reminder that when you’re pursuing your goals, you don’t have to do it alone.

In fact, being surrounded by the community can motivate you to run faster. One of my friends ran the Chicago marathon, a course considered easier, but her time was better for the more challenging New York marathon. She said having all her friends come out and cheer her on at the different miles improved her time much more than flat terrain.

During the marathon, I saw a girl see her mom on the sidelines and completely stop running to give her the biggest hug possible. I also saw couples running together – constantly looking at one another to remind each other that they could do this. Community is absolutely paramount, but these runners demonstrated the importance of connection or attachment with their parent or significant other. I can’t speak to their exact attachment styles, but from the sidelines, they looked secure – both parties were welcoming connection and intimacy with the other.

Alright, this one might be a stretch, but during the marathon, you are forced to have a difficult conversation with yourself about if you should continue with the race. In difficult conversations, there is usually no debate on the facts – the marathon is 26.2 miles and you signed up to run it. What matters in a difficult conversation is perception. On one hand, you trained so hard and want to accomplish your goal. On the other hand, you’re exhausted and want to rest. By acknowledging both perspectives, you can hopefully address both sides by continuing to run, but also taking breaks as needed.

Back in my running days (very brief stint), I always used to find another woman who was running about the same pace as me and I’d try to keep pace with her. By selecting a woman who was similar to me and because the race mattered a lot to me, my social comparison instincts kicked in. I would constantly be comparing myself to her and when I was behind, it would push me to run faster. I would also pump up high-energy pop music that would make me feel excited and powerful, so I could sustain a solid pace throughout the race.

There you have it – the marathon summarizes all the 9 behavioral psychology topics that we’ve discussed over the past 2 months (…with some being a bit more of a stretch than others)

“So Nicole – when are you going to run the marathon?”

Never say never, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never run a marathon. My body is still recovering from overuse at Tone House. But I continue to be inspired by all the marathoners!