President’s Weekly Messages to Students

That time I ran a half marathon by mistake

Monday, September 12, 2022

Dear KCC Students,

Did I ever you about the time I ran a half marathon by accident?  It all started when one of my friends asked me if I would be interested in doing a 5k with her.  I am not a runner and I had certainly never done one before, but I figured it would be fun.  I was in.  My friend registered me for the run.  I downloaded a 5k training app on my phone to help me prepare and got a personal trainer.  I was ready!

 On the day of the 5k I was all set!  When I got to check in I discovered that I was not registered for a 5k, but instead a half marathon.  In hindsight, I should have bowed out, or maybe just run 5K of the marathon, but I decided that I could do it. We were off and running (in my case jogging). I started off slow and paced myself.    At some point, I realized that my friend was not running alongside me.  I slowed and backtracked to see where she was.  She was walking and listening to an audiobook.  Turns out that she had decided not to do the ½ marathon and would walk for a few.  Fortunately for me, I was not alone, because there was a second friend who had joined us.  Together, we decided to see it through. 

 I would jog, run, walk and limp.  It was the most grueling thing I have ever done.  Every time we turned a corner, I prayed that I would see the finish line.  When I finally did see it in the distance I was so happy I almost cried.  Tears of joy, and tears because my feet, my legs, every part of my body was hurting.  But I continued to pace myself and walked when needed to and run when I could.   I was ecstatic by the time I passed the finish line.  It took me over 3 hours to complete the ½ marathon.  I was proud to cross the finish line. 

There are several lessons here.  First, don’t rely on others to do the work for you.  If I had registered myself, I would have known it was a ½ marathon. Second, even though a 5k is much shorter than a ½ marathon, I did everything possible to make sure I was ready.  The app, my personal trainer and his advice were really helpful.  Third, once I realized this would be much more difficult than expected, I paced myself by walking, jogging, resting when I needed it.  Even my friend, paced herself, when she decided that walking was better for her. In the end, she did not complete the ½ marathon, instead she walked a 5k, which was her original plan.  So she accomplished her mission just as I did.

KCC students, there are more lessons I know you can glean from this story, but this is what I need you to know right now. This is the first week of classes and you are on a mission and it is one I know that you will accomplish.  My advice to you is to stay ready and pace yourself.  Go to class as required, participate in class, complete your assignments, schedule time into your schedule to read and study.  I had a personal trainer to help coach me, and KCC has a spectrum of resources to assist you and you also have an advisor and professors who are here to support and mentor you.  

We are all cheering for you and your success and can’t wait to see you all at the finish line on Commencement Day!  

You got this and we got you!

Have a great semester!

-President Schrader