In The End He Was Trapped With His Demons But Still He Come Out On Top

I woke this morning, early, excited for the day, not for me but for my oldest son. Today was all trial and tribulation but I was sure he would come out the other side, a stronger more confident man who realised, in the space of 5 hours, 18 minutes and 54 second, that he was totally capable of, not only facing his demons but coming out on top in a truly glorious manner.

My youngest son has offered to drive today so we jump in my car and head off down to the Sunshine Coast to watch and support my oldest son as he pits himself against his own doubt and limited beliefs. To witness the metamorphosis of someone we both love dearly.

We arrive on the Sunshine Coast and meet up with my oldest son’s girlfriend. She has been here from the very start of today’s battle of wills.

I asked how he was faring and she explained she had seen him twice and he was doing okay. However, she did explain that she had received a text message from him earlier that morning and it said something along the lines of, “I need to drop out, I can’t do this.” She went on to say that she had replied to his message saying, “yes you can do this. Keep going.”

That message was all it took to boost him enough to win his own personal war.

We were at the Sunshine Coast, standing on the edge of the road that runs parallel to the beautiful beaches in this area. It was a glorious sunny day, in fact it was unusually hot for this time of the year, sitting at 27 degrees Celsius.

Glorious weather at any other time but not conducive to assisting him with today’s struggles. The heat was only going to make his struggle more real, as if it wasn’t tough enough as it is.

Today was the day that the Sunshine Coast 42.195 kilometres Marathon was finally being held. This should have taken place back in July but due to COVID lockdown at the time, it was postponed until today. The weather would have been kinder back in July, being that July is a part of our winter months.

An early start was of some help with the heat but it will be the hottest part of the day when the runners’ demons come out to play, attempting to derail each runner, to see if they have what it takes.

A marathon of this distance is equally physical and emotional, the runners emotional fight is the one that they will need to battle and overcome.

He was aiming for a race time of 4 hours but unfortunately the heat of the day will probably make that timing impossible to obtain.

The race began at 6 am and for the first 21 kilometres all was well. He was cruising along, headphones on, lost in his music and the rhythm of his feet. But then things started to go wrong. He could feel something was not right and he began to feel nauseous.

He was fully prepared for the race, as his many months of training had helped him to find ways to continue even as his body said no more. He carried dates with him to give his body a boost of energy, fuel to burn, as he continued to push harder.

However, unlike his training sessions, today he couldn’t hold his dates down and he found himself vomiting. This must have been due to the heat and it was at this time that he messaged his girlfriend to say he couldn’t do it, he needed to pull out.

When he received her reply that he could do it, he found his second wind. It was knowing that she believed in him, that helped put those early demons to bed. He was half way and he decided to put his whole heart and soul into the second half and he would do it for those who believed in him.

We lined up on the edge of the road waiting for him to pass us. His girlfriend had made a cloth sign so that he could find us in the crowd.

She explained that the two times he had already passed her, he was running slightly behind the four hour and fifteen minutes pacer, so when that pacer ran past, we were expecting him not far behind.

Suddenly time wasn’t on our side, as we hadn’t seen him as expected but what we had seen, was a number of ambulances pass, carrying people who had dropped out due to exhaustion or heat issues. We were beginning to worry and wonder if he was in one of those ambulances. He should have passed us by now.

Trying to think positively, it was suggested maybe we had missed him, when I finally saw him in the distance heading our way. We waved the sign around and he spotted us. The biggest smile adorned his face.

I expected him to be looking fatigued, hot and sweaty but he looked great. As he passed us, he knew he only had one more lap to go. He had run 32 kilometres by this stage and I knew him well enough to know he would never pull out now. He was totally committed.

We moved over to the other side of the road as that would be the next place he would pass us. We moved out of the harsh sun as we could all feel we were getting burnt. Plus we thought we had plenty of time before he would pass us again.

He surprised us with his speed and we almost missed him. At the last minute, I saw him coming and we raced to the edge of the road and cheered him on. He smiled, put his hands together and yelled, “I love you guys.”

I didn’t hear this at the time but my youngest son told me after he had passed. I also managed to get a photo of that exact moment and listening later I could hear my oldest son yelling those words to us.

He had now run 36 kilometres and had 8 kilometres to go. This was all new ground for him because even in his practice runs he had never run more than 36 kilometres. I must say he had never run in this heat either.

We thought it would take him about 45 minutes to run the last eight kilometres so we already knew he wasn’t going to finish in the time he had hoped, but we also knew that in these conditions, just finishing the race would be a major achievement.

We moved down to the finish line and had to wait more than the anticipated 45 minutes. This was enough for me to know that he was fighting hard against his own demons at this stage but I was still confident that he would come out on top.

Finally, we see him coming down the finishing straight. As soon as he saw the finish line, he sped up and sprinted the rest of the way. He passed us and we were yelling and cheering but he didn’t even turn his head, his goal was that finish line.

I noted that his earphones were now around his neck and therefore his watch, that was playing his music, must have run out of battery.

OMG, if he had no music then he had nothing to distract him from his own demons that would have been telling him to quit, to give up…………………but even against those odds, he brought the race home. He defeated all obstacles and crossed that finish line in all his glory.

His time to run 42.195 kilometres, in abnormal heat, was 5 hours, 18 minutes and 54 seconds by the clock. However, as they started the race in staggered start times, he can deduct 5 minutes from this timing.

So officially his race time is 5 hours, 13 minutes all told.

I am so proud of the young, strong, confidence, stubborn man, that I saw beat all odds, against his own personal demons and whatever the universe threw his way and still he succeeded in a monumental fashion. A job well done.

**********************************************************************

If you liked my writing, please click on the small heart underneath, near my name. Or send me a tip and let me know you enjoyed it.

****

Please click the link below my name to read more of my work. I would also like to thank you for taking the time to read this today and for all your support.

If you enjoy this piece, you may enjoy this one too.

Originally posted on Medium