I Ran A Half Marathon – You Should Too

There’s this joke about runners. It goes, ‘how do you know someone has run a marathon? They’ll tell you.’ As much as I hate to admit it, that runner is now me with having completed a half marathon.

To some, 21.1 kilometres may be a light warm-up. To most, myself included, it is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. However, completing the Totalsports Two Oceans Half Marathon was one of the greatest achievements of my life, and I think there may be a lot more half marathons in my near future.

You may have a million justifications as to why you could never ever run a kilometre, let alone a whole half marathon. A year ago, I would have had the same excuses and more. However, the tables have turned, and now I want to give you three reasons as to why you should sign up for a half marathon near you.

Training for and running a half marathon is hard.

Now, this may seem counterintuitive because I promised you three reasons why you should start running, not one why you shouldn’t. But the difficulty of running a half marathon (or even a 5km fun run for that matter) is one of the most rewarding things about it. We tend to set limitations on ourselves in our minds, but our bodies are capable of so much more than we think they are. If you can get past that mental barrier and take the first step (excuse the pun), you will feel so proud of yourself for accomplishing a challenging thing that you never thought you could. So, yes, running a half marathon is tough, but you’re probably tougher.

The vibe is unmatched

I truly believe that people who run are some of the nicest people around. The amount of times I heard someone say “Keep going,” or “You’ve got this,” or “You look great!” on the roads of the Southern Suburbs quite honestly brought me to tears. People are so encouraging, and no one thinks that they’re better than someone else. The speedy runners at the front and the slower ones at the back (like myself) get the same warm welcome when they cross that finish line. One of my favourite things about running is that it can be as social or as individual as you want it to be. You can join run clubs, run with friends, or keep it between you and your headphones. Regardless, that feeling of completing a good run is arguably one of the best I’ve ever had.

You can brag. Like a lot.

In the past six months, my Saturday mornings have gone from waking up at 12 pm and doing nothing all day to a long run and brunch with my running friends. This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with the former, and I definitely do still love a lazy Saturday, but there is something special in the air early in the morning, and the runners are inhaling all of it. Since I’ve started running, I have found a way to slide it into any conversation I have, and yes, I am embarrassed about that. But I’m also ridiculously proud of myself for completing my first half marathon, and it’s only fair that I should let the world know.

• cape town
• health
• marathon
• Two Oceans