Marathon Mania: run for the joy of it

The thought of running a marathon three months ago seemed daunting and beyond my capability. Although I'm a seasoned long-distance trail runner happy to get lost in the wilderness, the idea of pounding along a road for 42 kilometres with nothing resembling nature was not appealing.

But then I got curious. If marathons really are as tough as I thought, why do millions of people run in them worldwide each year? Appropriately, the slogan for the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is "Run for a reason", so for 12 weeks, I set out to discover the attraction and find my own reason to relish the road - and share it all weekly in this newspaper.

Following my carefully crafted training plan from coach Clinton Mackevicius, I quickly discovered the first pleasure in road running: speed. There's a childlike delight in moving quickly. Plus, Mackevicius' regimented approach brought several other victories in my running pursuits.

Even though I began to notice improvements, I was still not convinced. Tackling the longer, flatter and more monotonous training runs left me with the same gripe with which I began this venture: boredom. How was I going to survive the weary nature of repetition come race day?

Despite my fears, I arrived on Sunday at the start line on Nathan Road, feeling enthusiastic. I was doing something for the first time, after all. I finally had the chance to discover why 65,000 runners and I were running.

Although too many nervous pre-race toilet stops saw me begin towards the back of the 7.10am start, I managed to set off at a cracking pace (thanks to discovering my own "speed lane" on the edges of the course) and overtook several runners. I ran while listening to an awesome playlist, and as my feet began moving to their own rhythm, I surprised myself. I realised I was running for the joy of progress. As I passed each kilometre mark, still intact and with plenty of petrol in the tank, I felt a growing sense of accomplishment.