The Grand Finale

First off, I let you guys down a bit this week, and I'm sorry. I took a little too much on with the marathon. It's 9:15pm, and for the first time this week, I'm sitting with nothing pressing on me except, oh yeah, I'm running a marathon tomorrow morning. You should all be winding down and relaxing, and I had decided to tell you all this in person tomorrow morning, but in case anyone checks, here's the ending.

So, the finish. I left the half marathoners and the marathoners at 15th and San Jacinto, the courses rejoining each other for the first time since mile ten.

You have this one last hill, but it's nothing. When Phillip and I ran Austin in 2006, the first for both of us, this hill was at mile 20 or so. It sucked severely.

You've all trained harder than I did in 2006. You've hit more hills than we did back then. A couple of weeks ago, after we ran our repeats around the Capitol, we came back to Whole Foods this way, and everyone agreed this hill was nothing to worry about.

And now, at the end of your race, you can't let it slow you down. Form form form, strong strong strong. At the top, you turn right onto 11th, and you get a downhill. Let it take you. Be careful and in control, because you'll be tight at this point.

Left turn on Congress, and it's glory time. The crowds are there, and let me tell you, they love to see a good finish, whether it's for first or four thousandth. You sped up coming down the hill - hold that pace coming out of the turn.

At tenth street, kick it up a notch. Adrenaline can knock out cramps and a good deal of pain. Start picking runners in front of you and passing them, one by one. Run fast by being quick and relaxed - more like strides than sprinting - if you try to push yourself, you risk pulling a hamstring or something. Stay relaxed and in control, and finish strong. Run all the way through the finish.

Now, I do have some other things to say. Maybe I'll say them in the morning, but if we don't all get together, and if you're reading this as you eat your race morning breakfast...

I’m a sentimental guy. People give me a hard time about it. It’s a little uncool. I’ve always felt like in our everyday lives, we get cynical and hard, and we don’t allow things to touch us. But we all want things to mean something. We watched Rocky the other night, because I think, as cheesy as we may think it is, the story speaks to us. We all want to believe that there’s something more to us than the normal measures of life indicate. We all, at some level, want to be heroes. And ultimately, whether we’re embarassed to admit it or not, that is why we run.

I know I’m going to be happy with the times many of us run today, but really, I could care less. Times, Boston qualifiers, even winning, are all inadequate measures of who we are, and of our hearts. Heroes are not made by their accomplishments.

There will be things outside your control: the weather; the roads; the people around you; how your body feels; how hard you did or didn’t train in the past. Those conditions may set the stage, but heroes are not made by the conditions they find themselves in.

You can control the choices you make, and that’s the beauty of this sport. Heroes are made by their choices. You have already made tough choices, by committing to the training, and by being here today, putting yourself in a situation where you will be faced with tough, painful choices.

And everyone out here today, from the Olympic hopefuls and winners to the back of the packers, from people running their first half marathon, to the 87 year old I met last night running his 732 marathon, from the three hour marathoners to the three hour half marathoners - they all have the same opportunity to be great, to be, in some small but important way, heroes.

You have to be mature and intelligent today. If you’re feeling ill, dehydrated, or really injured, then slowing down or stopping is every bit the smart and equally tough choice.

But hopefully, that won’t be the case. Hopefully, every time we want to slow down, but don’t really have to, we’ll really get to choose the kind of person we are. Every time we want to walk, but don’t, we’ll win. Every time we want to quit, but don’t, we’ll get to be heroes.

So, today, choose how you run. Take what the course gives you, and be smart with how you use it. Take what your body can give you, and take a little more.

Today, choose to be who you want to be. No matter what you do for a living, how much money you have, what degree hangs on your wall, no matter what mistakes you’ve made, how you’ve succeeded, or what you’ve lost, today, you can be the kind of person you want to be. You all have it in you - the training, and the will. I’ve seen it in every one of you, and I am extremely proud of you all. This is your time. Don’t let it go.