The 50th Marine Corps Marathon is less than a month away. WTOP is highlighting some of the inspiring people getting ready to take part in what’s known as “The People’s Marathon.”
Many folks tackle the 26.2-mile challenge for the first time on the streets of the nation’s capital. One D.C.-area nurse is attempting the distance for the first time.
“I find myself not listening to music or anything when I’m at a race just because of how excited the crowd is,” said Margaret Gill, describing the recent D.C. Half Marathon she completed while training for the Marine Corps Marathon.
She told WTOP running has taken over her free time.
“I’m definitely looking at my calendar and saying, ‘OK, when do I have four hours to run?’ and then blocking off half a day.”
While the training has been strenuous and time consuming, Gill said she is starting to see it pay off.
“I never thought that like a nine-mile run would be a short run for me, but that’s what it’s turned into. And I still can’t wrap my head around,” she told WTOP during a brief pause for her morning 14-mile run.
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She, like many runners, is learning that the first thing to give out when running exceedingly long distances is not her cardio capacity, but her legs, with soreness ramping up as the miles do.
Gill works at Children’s National Hospital as a trauma and burn nurse taking care of kids.
“I’ve found that running has been a great way to wind up for the day or wind down for the day,” she told WTOP.
Burn injuries require physical and occupational therapy as part of recovery, according to Gill. Most of the day is getting the kids to do normal activities under her supervision and care, whether it’s playing hockey or walking in the garden.
“It really gives you some perspective on what the human body can do and how much you have to challenge it. And so, watching these kids really tackle that and move through it, when I’m having a hard time running, I just remember, ‘OK, it’s not going to be forever. We have got to get through this hard stuff, and it’s going to be easier at the end.'”
She decided to run the Marine Corps Marathon after being a member of the crowd last year supporting a friend.
“Just looking at all these people, I could be one of them, and it felt more attainable that way. Being a part of a group, cheering on another friend, this is somebody I see all the time, I can do it too,” Gill said.
Her advice to people who are aspiring to run a marathon as well: “There’s no time like the present. I felt like I went years saying, ‘Oh, I’m going to do one,’ and it just took committing and signing up for it and just jumping in. Don’t quit.”
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