Despite (or perhaps because of) their busy academic work weeks, many Hopkins students get restless without some sort of physical outlet. The O’Connor Rec Center provides one avenue for exercise, but the larger Baltimore area offers a plethora of opportunities for athletes in search of a greater challenge. Among the most formidable of these challenges is the marathon.
This past Saturday, many Hopkins students were among the 27,000 people who partook in the 13th annual Baltimore Running Festival. The event featured a marathon, half marathon, 5k race, team relay and kids fun-run for participants of varying running ability. Rainy weather and a lack of prize money had many worried that the event would be under-attended, but a huge outpouring of enthusiastic runners and supporters laid those concerns to rest. You can read more about the Festival and it’s inspirational atmosphere in our news feature on page A1.
The Editorial Board commends this year’s race participants for their hard work and determination. Hopkins students are accustomed to accomplishing great things in the academic sphere, which makes it unsurprising when they apply that same drive in other fields. Nevertheless, the unique skill set of mental toughness and extreme physical endurance that running a marathon requires makes completing the race a particularly impressive feat.
Success means training one’s mind as much as one’s body. As one participant observed, “Running a marathon isn’t something you wake up one morning and decide to do: it’s something that takes miles of training and dedication.” While the race is in progress, it’s not exactly a pleasant experience: marathoners need a tremendous pain tolerance to get through all 26.2 miles. But this year’s smiling finishers insisted it was all worth it. The Editorial Board can only imagine the pride, excitement, emotion and sense of accomplishment that must come from pushing through those painful hours and offers Hopkins’ newest marathoners its heartfelt congratulations.
