Life is like a Marathon

This is an excerpt from an article in a local Chinese newspaper which I felt it explained why "life is like a marathon". I have done the English translation to my best ability. A lot of marathoners felt exactly what has been written. 

跑者說：“人生就像一場馬拉松，再累也沒有人能代替你跑，但會有許多人陪伴你一起跑。”跑者說：“跑到身心快要崩潰時，有人鼓勵和扶你一把，就可以咬牙撐過去。”“多累都不能半途放棄，就算用走的，也要慢慢走到終點。”“跑馬拉松不是為了與人競爭，而是超越自己，更重要的是以自己的節奏，跑好每一步，享受跑步的快樂。”

這些都是至理名言。咦，我們到底是在講馬拉松或人生呢？(From : 中國報）

Runner : "Life is like a marathon. Even when you are very tired, nobody can run for you but a lot of people will be running with you. When you are extremely exhausted with people's encouragement and help, you peservere to finish and never give up. You walk to the finish line slowly when you have to. Running a marathon is not to compete with others but to exceed yourself. Run with your own pace and made good with every step and experience the joy of running.

These words of wisdom. Are we talking about marathon or life?

"If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon."

~ Emil Zatopek, the triple-gold winner in the 1952 Olympics, winning the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon. A Running Times article on Emil Zatopek.

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought." 

~ Arthur Blank

"Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles, however if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up, things will turn out for the best."
~ Meb Keflezighi, U.S. Olympic marathoner


"Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived." 
~ Dean Karnazes


"That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." 
~ Kara Goucher 


"Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself -- expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip." 
~ Dean Karnazes