The Long Haul: On Races, Writing, and Showing Up

At the end of April, I traveled to Eugene, Oregon with a group of friends for an annual marathon weekend. For some, it's the third or fourth marathon in so many months. For others (me) it might be the only committed race for the year. But when we come together for this weekend, we rent multiple AirBnBs and make a big pasta dinner the night before the race. Best of all, we cheer for one another—whether we’re running the half or the full, whether it’s our first race or our tenth, and whether we’re recovering from injury or in peak shape.

Running reflecting real life

Distance running holds a mirror up to society for me. It’s an activity with a fairly low barrier to entry, and therefore can hold space for a huge variety of people. Longer races force even the fastest runners to slow down, to pace themselves for the long haul. It proves to us that we can do really difficult things, and it reminds us that those things are easier when we do them with the support of our friends and community.

Three cheers for cheerers

Running through a town of cheering spectators will always feel magical. But it’s a symbiotic relationship. Watching hoards of people pushing themselves to accomplish something is inspiring and energizing in its own right. If you haven’t sat on the sidelines and cheered for a marathon, I highly encourage you to try it.

Writing is its own marathon

Writing a book is a marathon of its own kind. It requires hours and hours of dedication and focus over long months. And like writing, training for a long race can be a solitary experience. But with writing, we don’t often have cheerleaders on the sidelines or a community of folks finishing at the same time. It can be hard to feel connected to the bigger picture when you’re working through a computer screen and when your challenges are mental instead of the obvious physical stress of running.

Finding a writing community

In the past, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November) is probably the closest I’ve seen to a broad community effort that puts writers on the same track. But this year, I’ve also found something more sustainable: a small writing critique group. We’ve only been together a short while, but their thoughtful feedback and consistent encouragement have already made writing feel more like a supported race. They’ve helped me push through resistance, revise with more confidence, and keep showing up.

Whether you're chasing a finish line or chasing a word count, it helps to know someone is rooting for you. And sometimes, the simple act of cheering each other on is what keeps us all going.

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