Sarasota Livin'

I don’t think it was a long lonely road. Just look at that hot chick beside you, man. Kidding aside, a marathon is not about winning; rather it’s more than that. It may encompass camaraderie and sportsmanship. It may also test one’s patience and endurance. If you are focused on winning, you will surely get it to the finish line ahead of the others. But if the purpose is purely self-vested, winning won’t make you satisfied or happy.

I think it depends on the person. That’s one of the things that makes a marathon such an amazing event. I think there are those who view it as a personal challenge, a chance to look within the self and discover if you have what it takes. My brother sees it this way. The race itself becomes almost a meditation, one that necessarily involves, not loneliness, but “alone-ness.” But there are others who make of this a group effort, a validation of one another, a chance to push each other to new heights of endurance. I know that some people actually form groups that complete the race in stages, each running one portion to make up a complete 26 miles. But then, I would guess from your photos that you already recognize these two ways of seeing the marathon. For in the first you capture two people, together in the same frame but obviously very distant from one another in other ways. In the second, you find comradeship at the finish line.