First off, it is physically difficult to build up endurance in your legs, heart and lungs. It takes time, and no how matter how much you train, during any given run you will feel exhausted and in serious pain. It is physically taxing on your joints and you could chafe.

It is mentally tough. As mentioned, you’ll feel tired and your legs will feel strained even when you are in excellent condition. You have to train your mind to keep your legs moving even when your muscles are telling you they’ve reached their limits. And with regard to your lungs and heart, you have to keep pushing even though your chest is on fire, and you have severe heart palpitations, chest tightness, numbness in your extremeties, your whole body goes cold and you are vomiting.

It is emotionally tough, especially for the modern runner. What are the only two reasons a grown man would train to be a distance runner? To look sexy for his wife, and to boast about it to his peers. Let’s take those one at a time.

Do I look sexy to my wife? Yes. But on the other hand, no. I run a lot, but I eat a lot. And the more I run, the more I eat. Burritos, General Tso’s, Costco pizza, you name it. So I am still pretty fat and I suspect my wife’s positive impressions of my sexiness are due more to her gradual acceptance of her marital responsibilities and red wine.

Can I boast about it to my peers? Only kind of. I am 38, white, I live in the suburbs and have kids. Deciding to run a marathon at a pace barely above walking is just something we do nowadays. So when I post about it on facebook, are people saying “wow, good for that fat guy who I sort of knew in 8th grade” or are they saying “next you’ll tell me you drive a minivan, enjoy microbrews and think Paul’s Boutique still sounds as fresh as the year it was released.” I can’t expect I will ever know.