It was a great surprise to find that the Documentary Channel will be airing tonight the premiere of “Spirit of the Marathon,” a documentary vying for Oscar® consideration that offers a rare glimpse inside the lives of six runners as they prepare for the challenging Chicago Marathon. This will be the second time I'll be watching this film, which was introduced to me by my nephew Ped. It was moving and it truly speaks of the test of human endurance and character, both physically and mentally.
There is a lesson here, that of triumph over pain and nothing could come closer to home than that of the recent experience of Ped and Carol as they ran the ING NYC 2009 Marathon. I regret that I wasn’t around to cheer them on but of course they got their added inspirational boost from Marco, their son and his fiancee Amber who flew in from Chicago to support them.
Ped wasn’t pleased with his time of 4 hours, but let’s look beyond the clocked finish time and focus on the commitment both of them had from start to finish. This is bigger than words; they pushed themselves through months of rigorous training which is remarkable. And they triumphed in the end.
Ped was no Meb, Carol was no Grete Waitz or Deena Kastor, but they sure displayed a character of true perseverance and determination. The grueling 26.2 mile run left Carol nursing blisters the size of dollar coins on her sole but her spirit remained unscathed. Just a few miles after the start at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, she was already slowed down by the pain, but she stayed on to run the rest of the course.
She was met by Marco and his friend at the Queensboro Bridge, that monstrous bridge and the steep and long hike, holding her by the arms and continued on striding thru the Bronx and finishing in Central Park. Clocking in 7 hours, she was applauded as she crossed the finish line where the crowd had already thinned but Carol’s spirit had not. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she received her medal and with Ped by her side, it must’ve been an extraordinary moment in her life.
If I know her, in anything she sets out to do, Carol’s mantra is “I know I can, I know I can”. She battled pain from the blisters but her loving family got her through.
That was special!
