Twenty Years of Marathons

Twenty years ago today I slid (not strapped on; this is important) a pair of shoes on and got ready to run my first ever marathon. I wasn’t even aware how much I didn’t know about running long distance races but about two hours later, I learned the hard way. Clad in a three-quarter length cotton t-shirt, a far-too-bulky beaded necklace, metal-rimmed sunglasses, and a pair of slip-on, light-weight running shoes that were more suited for casual walking on a boat deck than 26.2 miles of running, I was taught many a valuable lesson that day. Lessons that, 163 more marathons later, I am still learning.