Not everything is meant to go well (and that’s a good thing) ✍️🏃

27 May, 2025

Standing in a crowd of 20.000, waiting for our time to start, while the other half had already started.

I’ve been a runner for over 20 years. What started with a bet to run a 10-mile race slowly grew into something I did more often. But it wasn’t until five years ago, again, through a bet to run a marathon, that I got serious. From that point on, I began following training programs, doing strength work, and showing up at the start line as prepared as I could be.

That’s what I tried to do for the 20km race I ran this Sunday.

Despite some setbacks, I trained consistently from February onward. I added strength training to the mix. My knee started acting up closer to the event, and my HRV started dropping, often a red flag when your body is coping with something. But with plenty of rest, knee taping, medication, and sleep, I still felt reasonably ready when I showed up at the starting line.

And yet… things didn’t go as planned.

The first 2 kilometres felt fine. My pace was on point, exactly what I had hoped for. But then the first hills approached. My legs turned heavy, and I could feel the fatigue settling in, far earlier than expected. I adjusted my goal. Instead of pushing to my target pace, I tried to settle into a sustainable pace. But as the race went on, that too started slipping. My right leg began hurting badly, possibly overcompensating for the taped left knee.

Walking crossed my mind. But I knew that once I started walking, it would be hard to start running again. Not to mention the time to reach the finish line.
No, walking was not an option.

That’s when a memory came to mind, from a marathon I ran three years ago, where everything went smoothly until the 26th kilometre… after which everything fell apart. My legs felt destroyed, and I had to suffer through the final 16km. It wasn’t pretty, but I finished. And I remember thinking: "push through and use it as a mental training".

That same mindset kicked in during Sunday’s race.

I stopped seeing it as a performance. I started seeing it as preparation.

Because not every race is meant to go well. Sometimes, a race exists to remind you of the grind. To test how deep you’re willing to go. To build resilience for the future.

And that’s what I did: I accepted the pain, adjusted expectations, and endured.

I crossed the finish line 12 minutes slower than last year.
My legs still feel sore today. But I’m not disappointed.

Yes, it wasn’t what I trained for.
But it was a reminder, like the marathon 3 years ago.

Lessons learned

Events like these remind me of an important truth: not everything in life goes smoothly. And the more things go “easy,” the more fragile we become when hardship inevitably hits.

By going through the struggle now, I’m not just learning how to run in pain. I’m learning how to live through difficulty. To keep going when things break down. And that’s a skill I’ll carry forward, not just to my marathon in December, but to every future challenge, running-related or not.

Adversity makes you stronger. Struggles, setbacks, and adversity aren’t failures. They’re reminders. They’re reality checks. They’re training.

I don't always like them, but I’m grateful for them.
They prepare me for future challenges.

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