People like to say, “It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon.” The problem is that some people take six hours to run a marathon, while the best do it in two.
If you can’t finish the marathon in under three hours they won’t even let you start the race alongside the serious runners. You’re an amateur. You’ll only get in their way.
There was a battle in ancient Greece in 490 BC. The Battle of Marathon (yes, that's where the reference came from).
The story goes that after the Athenians defeated the Persians, a soldier called Pheidippides was tasked with running from the battlefield near the town of Marathon to Athens to announce their victory. Covering approximately 26 miles (42 kilometres), he delivered the message, "Nenikékamen!" ("We have won!"), before collapsing and dying from exhaustion.
On one hand, it’s the tale of a brave soldier. On the other, it’s a parable about the need to gauge our capabilities and the distance we need to cover to exert ourselves effectively.
In it for the long haul
Sometimes we have to do hard things, for a long time, with maximum effort.
The key is that maximum effort doesn’t mean your fastest possible speed - it means the fastest speed you can maintain over the course of the journey.
That’s what separates elite athletes from journeymen. That’s what determines who crosses the line triumphant.
The Siege of Leningrad during World War II is one of history's most harrowing tales of survival under siege conditions. For 900 days, the city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) was encircled by German and Finnish forces, cutting off all supply routes to the city.
The citizens faced extreme cold, starvation, and constant bombardment. Yet, through extraordinary measures of rationing, the creation of new supply routes across the thin ice of Lake Ladoga (known as the Road of Life), and the indomitable spirit of the city's defenders and inhabitants, Leningrad held out until the siege was lifted.
This perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds required both the citizens and soldiers to pace themselves, managing their scant resources and energy to survive the long ordeal.
In our lives, this translates to knowing when to push the boundaries of our comfort zones and when to conserve energy for the battles ahead. It's understanding that while we might need to sprint occasionally, life's true tests are marathons of resilience, intellect, and will.
The art of endurance isn't about going slow. It's about going as fast as you can, for as long as you can, without burning out before the finish line.
Hit the final mile strong.
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