Courage starts with fear

Nobody feels brave when they begin. Fear whispers that you’re not strong enough, fast enough, or ready enough. But courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the decision to run despite it.

Running a marathon is no joke. To be able to stand on the start line needs months of showing up. Even the best of athletes struggles to finish sometimes. So, what is the key that thousands of runners show up every weekend for various races. And despite months of training sometimes runners are not able to finish.

There is no doubt that to run a marathon you need to develop the stamina, the endurance and train your muscles for it. But they say marathon is eighty percent run by your mental capacity and only twenty percent by physical capacity. You need to overcome the fear of failure. You need to believe in yourself, your goals and your ability to achieve that goal. Especially, during the later stages of a race, when you feel you do not have any more physical strength left in you, that is when you need to dig deeper mentally and overcome the doubts and pull yourself together to put one step ahead of another.

Using fear as a tool instead of an inhabitant is profound way to prepare for the mental aspect of a run. A little bit of fear just like a little bit of stress is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes (pun intended) and encourages you to train better. You will focus on all the minute details and will cover your bases across all aspects of run and would not leave things on a chance.

Fear does not have to paralyze you—it can push you. Use it as fuel to prove yourself wrong. Turn What if I fail? into What if I succeed? Every run is an act of defiance against your doubts. So, lace up, face the fear head-on, and turn it into your motivation. Do it scared. Growth starts where fear ends.

So, take that first step, even if it is shaky. Each mile you run scared will turn into a story of resilience and strength.