This is probably a bad idea.

The first thing you should know is that I am an anti-marathoner. As an avid middle-distance runner, I have long endured comments along these lines:

"Ohhh, you're just doing the 5k? Why don't you challenge yourself and try the marathon?"

This usually leads me into an extended rant about how running a fast 5k is incredibly challenging and painful, how it is, in fact, probably harder than plodding slowly through a marathon, how the training I do requires just as much effort and discipline as marathon training ... etc. Which usually leads to the innocent questioner backing away slowly.

And yet, secretly, the marathon has always scared me. I can barely comprehend the suffering of a 10k going on more than four times as long. I don't even know if my legs can handle that distance without giving out. And maybe my mental stamina has a 10k limit ... I do often want to quit at the 3k mark, but I keep going because the end is in sight. What will I do when I'm already hurting and see the "35km to go" sign?  While I stand behind my opinions on the merits of middle-distance running, they have conveniently shielded me from the inevitable truth: I may be wimping out.

So, on October 14th, I'm going to run my first marathon in San Francisco.

Which brings me to the second thing you should know: hills are my nemesis. I have long legs that serve me well running circles around a track. They are much less helpful for climbing. I have cursed every hill I've ever run, dreaded every cross-country race that involved even slight inclines. San Francisco is flat, right? Ok good.

Anyway, I figured I'll need some serious outside inspiration to get me through a first hill-infested marathon. That wasn't hard to find: one of my running buds, Rachel, was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Not even six months ago I was chasing her up the hills in Gatineau Park, marvelling at how this girl was running crazy fast so soon after giving birth. So until she's hitting the trails with me again, I'm going to do this thing with her in mind. Every time I start complaining about how far I have to go, how many hills I have to climb, I will be picturing Rachel, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, saying: "Really Jackie? You're going to complain about a hill? I could run that in my sleep and I have CANCER."

I'm running for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Team in Training, and I've set a fundraising goal of $5000. That's a lot of money, and attempting to raise it scares me almost as much as the marathon. I would truly appreciate your support. And please keep following me as I document (ie rant about) my attempt at this ridiculous, unnecessary pursuit.

This is my fundraising page: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1429184&langPref=en-CA