One Day to Go

In almost exactly 24 hours, a few thousand of my closest friends and I will start our 26.2 mile journey through the streets of DC. The race begins near good ole RFK Stadium, heads toward the Capitol and down Constitution, followed by a loop in Northwest and Northeast, and ending with a loop around Southwest. The reality of what I’m about to do is hitting me like a ton of bricks and I’m starting to get nervous. Last night my mind was racing --- what if my ankle doesn’t hold up? What if I catch a terrible cold in the next 24 hours? What if the electricity goes out in my apartment and I oversleep? Needless to say I don’t exactly feel rested this morning and the nervousness and worrying continues.

What to do?

Well, besides taking lots of naps, I need to stay busy today, especially since I decided to take the day off work. Tradition holds that I watch a movie to psyche myself up, and normally that movie is Rocky I, and why not. You have the great music, the scene of Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and of course the story of a long shot going the distance with the champ. But I’m thinking about breaking with tradition this year and going a different route. We’re in the thick of March Madness and this afternoon I’m going to be glued to the tv watching wall to wall games, including Syracuse making a run at their second title (Go Orange!). I can think of no better movie that melds March Madness with athletic determination than Hoosiers, the 1986 classic based on the true story of a small town Indiana high school overcoming the odds to win the Indiana High School Basketball Tournament. No one gave them a chance --- a washed up coach leading a small team from a small school --- yet through hard work, determination, grit, and teamwork, they won the state championship.

Tomorrow when I’m struggling a bit, and I will struggle at some point during the race, every marathoner does, I’m going to think about all the people who have believed in and supported me, who displayed amazing kindness and generosity as I raised money for pancreatic cancer, and who told me to keep my chin up during the really tough times when I was recovering from surgery. Will I win tomorrow’s race? Of course not, but in my own way, finishing the race will feel like making the game winning shot.