42

42 is an interesting number, which can refer to many things: just google it or check it on wikipedia. Among other (more or less interesting) stuff, 42 Km is the length of a Marathon (actually it's a few meters short).

Being a long-distance runner is a tough hobby for one who's never run a full marathon. You can have a plethora of 10Km races and Half-Marathons in your "career". but when you tell someone about your hobby they'll undoubtly reply "Ah, so you run marathons?". The marathon has that distinct and powerful appeal; compared to it all other races seem child's play. No wonder after my explaining that I run not-so-long-distances people sighed disappointed bit "Oh....". Furthermore, when speaking about me, nobody would actually say I'm a long-distance runner. They'd simply say I run marathons, a lie I would later on have to undo. But not anymore.

For me, the marathon now had a much stronger importance: it was the only sports activity which had defeated me. Sure, I've lost plenty of football and tennis matches, but in that situation you lose to the other player/team and you can attribute it to their skills. It's totally different from giving up on a match, that I never did (actually I'm quite sure my account of saved match-points is much impressive than the % of matches won). And I'd never given up on an athletics competition either until (nor did I do it again afterwards) my first Marathon attempt in Faro, last October. It's a really sad situation, since you know the failure is yours and yours alone. It really hurts somewhere deep inside, leaving some ugly dent in your self-esteem. Until, that is, you prove yourself that you can overcome it.

Despite the importance this race had to me, I almost missed it. A huge workload from my studies prevented me from having the preparation I wanted (and needed) and a slight cold stuck me on the day before, making me wonder if it really was worth the try. I guess it was the bitter taste of defeat still lingering from last year's race that got me up to run this morning.

One of the things I really believe helped through this race was my Ipod, which I was not allowed to use the previous time. For that reason, I'll go through some of the songs I've listened to throughout the race, describing what I remember from when it was played. Since I was expecting a really long workout (my playlist had over 5h of music) I didn't really take the time to sort them; I just programmed the Ipod to play them randomly, with the exception of the first (chosen) and the powersong, which would only play when I ordered it.

Name of the Race: Lisbon-Marathon
Length: 42.195Km
Date: 9th December 2012 

Minimum goals: Finish It

Personal challenge: None
Best time in other races of same length: NA

Let's Get It Started (Black Eyed Peas) - Start. What could be more appropriate? The starting area was not that crowded (not as much as other competitions at least), mostly due to the fact that all the races taking part today had different time departures. Nicely done organization comitee! That allowed me to uneffortly keep track of my teammate Graça Roldão from "Os Tugas", our unofficial running team. Due to her large experience and good results in marathons I decided to try and stick with her for this one and we ended up crossing the finishing line together. Looking back, I'm not sure if I could've done if I were alone. But at this point the race was just starting, the Ipod kept shouting "and the base keeps running, running, and running, running..." and although I'm no base I did keep running. Determined, yet not confident.

Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen) ~ 5Km. Although the meaning of the song is totally different, I love listening to Born To Run when running. It's one of those songs that really seem to empower me; I started to set my fears aside and enjoying the race completely. Although we were still in the urban area of Lisbon, the city and its surroundings are quite beautiful making running in it a real pleasure. When though it's known as "city of the seven hills". Yes, obvious reasons.

Hearts On Fire (Cut Copy) ~ 10Km. Almost certainly the most repetitive song I like, it did its job without further ado. At this point we were descending quite a lot, which made me worry about the return. And with good reason as I came to learn. On the 10th kilometer mark the chronometer marked 50m32s.

Emerald Sword (Rhapsody Of Fire) ~15Km. Recommended by a friend of mine, I really came to like this song, among other of the same band. Certainly a nice tune for running.

Give It All (Rise Against) ~21Km. One of my favourite running songs, somewhat was ted so early in the race since I believe it could bring the back from the dead. Or from being lay down on the concrete. Not a good call auto-play, not at all. I crossed the Half-Marathon finishing line, this time without the naive thought of being halfway there. Every runner who's been through it knows the 21st Km is not the middle of the marathon, that lies somewhere close to the 30th maybe. The chronometer marked 1h45m, but I didn't let get over my head. I knew I still had a lot to overcome.

Cat People (David Bowie) ~25Km. Lovely song, also present in one of my favourite movies. It made me smile and, as you all know, sound mind leads to a sound body.

Through The Fire And Flames (DragonForce) ~28Km. One of the most powerful songs in  my collection, with strongly motivational lyrics. I couldn't help but remember the numerous times where I struggled with its notes in Guitar Hero. Still, its tempo is perhaps too fast for a Marathon; I had to resist the urge of speeding up my pace.

Startfire (DragonForce) - 30Km. I chose this moment to play my chosen powersong for the first time. A really unsual slow song by DragonForce (it starts with a beautiful sound of a piano with a cascade on background) it seemed appropriate to the slow pace I knew I would need to keep to finish the Marathon. The lyrics are motivation enough.

Points Of Authority (Linkin Park) ~35Km. "You can't run the race/ the pace is too fast/ you just won't last". What the hell? You're supposed to help Mr. Ipod... I cursed the random music player and skipped to the next song.


Startfire (DragonForce) - 37Km. Why oh why did our ancestor build our city on these accursed hills? We were finally going up the hill to the finish line, but my legs' cry for mercy made me reward them with the powerwong again. I didn't stop running though (the whole time). The chronometer marked 3h14m38s.

Best Of You (Foo Fighters) ~38Km. Yep, there were many people getting the best of me (I was barely moving). But I was also getting the best of lots of people (perhaps mostly the same people, as everyone kept accelerating/decelarating). The Portuguese minister of Education, Nuno Crato, once wrote a mathematical proof showing that, in a traffic jam with multiple lines, everyone spends more time being passed by other cars than passing by them. Perhaps the same could be applied in this situation.

Go For The Goal (Pop) ~40Km. Although I usually play the music in the beginning of a race, I must say it fits beautifully in the end as well. Five points for Ipod auto-play.

Minority (Green Day) ~ 40Km. True, I really did want to belong to the minority of people who've crossed that finish line.At this point my mind wasn't really capable of much more elaborated thinking, so there's not much to say.

Original Prankster (The Offspring) ~41Km. "You can do it". Indeed; after crossing the 41st Km mark I finally allowed myself to acknowledge I'd really finish it:  I'd crawl my way to the finish line if I had to.

I finally finished the race with the official time of 3h 52m 33s. It was an amazing experience, leading to a sort of cathartic feeling. I congratulate the organization both for the event itself (there were plenty of support areas with adequate drinks/food) and the souvenirs (2 T-shirts plus the medal). For now, I think I'll go back to running half-marathons (I've met my challenge), but I'll certainly go back to the "real deal" later on.


Filipe Baptista de Morais