At first glance, the marathon is likely thought of as an individual sport, and I mean, you’re not wrong.
It’s you against the course, the clock, and your competitors. There’s no one you can pass the ball to or substitutions to make when you get tired.
When you cross the finish line, it’s your name next to your time.
But if you’ve ever run a marathon, you know that it’s far from an individual sport. The supposedly isolating, lonely act of marathon running was actually beaming with camaraderie and team spirit.
You might wonder how a solitary sport can create the same excitement and loyalty as regular team sports. We’re often training alone, there are no teammates relying on our performance, and our race day is independent of everyone else.
However, in the end, we’re all part of an exclusive team of people who run marathons—an enormous group of runners who are excited about health, community, and achievement that culminates on one day: marathon day.
The runners, the spectators, the volunteers, and the organizers all help us get closer to that finish line every day.
And nothing made this more evident than the top three American women racing the Boston Marathon.
Emma Bates, Sara Hall, and Des Linden.
None of them made headlines on Monday for their results, but their values spoke volumes.
Once you cross the line of the Boston Marathon, the last thing you’re thinking about is anyone else. Your focus is likely just on being able to feel your legs again and getting some water into your system (and maybe getting your medal, too).
For Emma Bates, who finished 11th in 2:27:14, it was waiting for her compatriots to cross the line.
As Sara Hall finished (15th in 2:27:58), the American duo can be seen celebrating with not only each other but also their home crowd supporters too.
Des Linden, who finished her eleventh Boston Marathon (just behind Hall in 16th with a time of 2:28:27), was already celebrating her race with Bates and Hall before the line, as they waited for her.
Once all three women crossed the finish line of the 2024 Boston Marathon, they celebrated each other’s accomplishments together and with their community.
For Bates, it was coming back from an injury that robbed her of her Olympic dream. For Hall, it was redemption from a bittersweet race at the Olympic Trials. And for Linden, it was completing yet another Boston Marathon with the best runners in the world.
It’s not an easy sport, especially at the professional level, but acknowledging and embracing the fact that it takes a village is what makes days like the Boston Marathon so special.
