“Believe in Your Wildest Dreams”

Marathon legend Deena Kastor inscribed that exhortation on a poster that has hung in my bedroom since I first watched the acclaimed documentary, “Spirit of the Marathon” (2007), which captured her 2005 Chicago Marathon journey almost exactly 18 years ago, as directed by Jon Dunham.

That documentary inspired me to complete my fourth marathon in three different decades (4:42:30; nonstop; no walking) while coaching another runner to her first.?

That feat exceeded my previous “wildest dream,” a 285-day cardio-workout streak (April 24, 2002 to February 2, 2003), one that I thought I could never surpass.

In the Tao Te Ching, a classical Chinese Taoist text usually credited to Laozi (a.k.a. Lao Tzu), and probably written between the 4th and 6th century BC, it was said that "a journey of a thousand li [a Chinese mile] starts beneath one’s feet."

On October 1, 2023, that “first step taken” led me to reach my two-year journey of 3,258.81 miles (5,244.546 km)—730 consecutive workouts of at least 5K (3.11 miles) and usually at least 7K (4.35 miles) running or walking, all outdoors. Along the way, it also propelled me through my 6th marathon in 5 different decades (also nonstop; no walking), with a finishing time under five hours (after running the first 2.5 hours through a driving rainstorm).

?I tell you this on LinkedIn to encourage each of you to both “run toward the danger” AND to “strategically quit” only once you’ve tested (and bested) your fears first. While the above are certainly physical exploits, they matter more for the mental (mindset) benefits that can then be applied to any situation which, at first glance, might seem completely overwhelming.

?As for the streak, per my earlier articles here, here, and here, just this week, I completed a walk at 3:30 a.m., drove 63 miles to a Philadelphia conference, attended events for 14+ hours, drove back, drove to Philadelphia again the next morning, attended events for 5 hours, drove back, completed another walk, and then, the next day, commuted 50+ miles the other direction, to New York City the following day, where I walked 4.1 miles in rush-hour traffic and 83°/humidity before attending another event … proving that, once you’ve broken down the mental barriers to attainment, the possibilities can almost always exceed your “wildest dreams.” ?

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