DALLAS — On Sunday, Dec. 15, more than 12,000 runners will take part in the the Dallas Marathon.
In addition to the full marathon, the weekend includes a half marathon, a 50K Ultra Marathon, relays, 10K, 5K, and more.
Among the people taking to the streets are a handful of WFAA employees.
We asked some of them why they were taking part in the event and what their motivation for running is.
Reporter Teresa Woodard:
I wish I had some poignant answer for the question, “Why are you running a marathon?” During the grueling marathon training process, I often ask myself the same question. And I’ll admit I usually throw a couple of four-letter words in, too. The best answer I can give is this: to prove I can.
I wasn’t gifted with an overflowing cup of self-confidence. My husband calls me “The Duchess of Doubt” because I am a bit of a pessimist. I always assume I’m going to fail, make a fool of myself, or get painfully embarrassed with pretty much everything I attempt. But running gives me confidence.
Now, during a run, I battle the same voices I hear daily that tell me I’m not good enough or strong enough or smart enough or brave enough to do something. But, I just keep running. And those voices get a little quieter throughout my run. By the time I finish a run – they’ve shut the heck up! Clearly, running is my therapy and my running shoes are my therapist.
Completing a marathon is the hardest thing I’ve ever done – both physically and mentally. So, when I cross the finish line after 26.2 miles (my inner Duchess of Doubt wants to use “IF” instead of “when” there), I feel like I can conquer the world. It’s a fleeting feeling, but a darn good one.
Anchor Chris Lawrence:
I’m still shaking my head that Izzy roped me into this. And yes, I’m blaming her! We were reading some story about fitness one night, and she mentioned how WFAA is a marathon sponsor, and how easy it would be to register. Yeah, easy to fill out a form online …not so easy to run all these miles. But in the end I’m glad she got me going on this. I used to run a lot, and even completed two marathons – Honolulu and Chicago.
I’d always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to run another one when my kids were old enough to remember. Someone once said, “You were made to do hard things” and it really stuck with me. I say it to my kids all the time. When they’re whining about being tired or feeling discouraged about something I tell them, “You were made to do hard things.” So I think about that on these training runs. And I think this half marathon is the kick in the butt I needed to eventually run a full marathon again. I can’t think of a better way to show my kids they can do whatever they set their minds to.