By Tom Guenther

“Do you want to do the New York Marathon?” Charlene yelled. “Sure!” I said as she drove by. I had been running for twenty years and had always thought about marathons; but what on earth had I just agreed to? TWENTY SIX MILES, IN A ROW! What was I thinking?!

That’s how it all started in the spring of 1994; Charlene Doran had asked if I wanted to do the New York Marathon. Her husband John knew some New York firemen and they could get us in. Later, we learned of the Leukemia’s Team in Training program which we joined. We met twice a week to do training together. The challenge was to find the routes that were convenient for both. The training was not stressful; we just did what was on the schedule. While the twenty miler was long, and we found “Mad Dog Doran” it was doable. We were still apprehensive of those final six point two miles.

On November 1994, we rode the bus to Staten Island. All participants have to be there by 9am. The race doesn’t start until 10:50, that’s two hours you get to spend with thirty thousand of your closest friends. The only place to sit was on the ground, cross legged. Not being very flexible, this caused great pain, so much pain that I started taking Advil. My right knee was killing me. It really hurt. By race time I had taken six Advil. The gun went off and we waited and then sort of moved and finally we crossed the start line nineteen minutes after the start. This was before chips. In Brooklyn I stopped at an aid tent and got two more Advil…that’s eight. And the pain was still there.

In New York there are three different starts that all converge at around mile eight. One of these groups is The Achilles Track Club. They escort handicapped participants. My knee was killing me…the Advil hadn’t helped…was I doing permanent damage to my knee…should I stop…damn it hurt…all these months of training for nothing…I’m going to stop! And then I saw her. There was a woman doing the race with Achilles. She was doing it on crutches. She had only one leg! I looked at her and thought,” She would sell her soul to have pain in her missing leg!” What was I complaining about?

I finished the marathon and cried hysterically. I had accomplished this, I had done it! If I can do this, I can do anything. This became a defining moment for me. My life has changed in many ways because of this marathon and the subsequent thirty-six marathons that I have done. I still get apprehensive at the start and I still cry when I finish

Marathoning may not be for everyone, but if you’re willing to take a chance, it could change your life forever.