There is only one thing runners really compete against–the little voice that grows louder at every split that says: “Stop.” It is, unfortunately, a familiar sound. We hear it all our lives, at work, at school, in our personal relations.
It tells us we cannot succeed.
We cannot finish.
The boss expects too much.
The company is too demanding.
The homework assignment takes too long.
Our family is too unappreciative.
The truth is that many successful people are no more talented than unsuccessful people.
The difference between them lies in the old axiom that successful people do those things that unsuccessful people don’t like to do. Successful people have the determination, the will, the focus, the drive to complete the tough jobs.

Why run 26 miles 385 yards?

Why torture yourself to achieve a goal with no tangible reward or significance other than what you yourself assign to it?

The answer lies in the question: Because only you can know what it means, only you are able to make yourself do it.

When you do, then you know there isn’t anything you can’t do.

No amount of hype, no cheering section, no personal glory, no place in the annals of history, can carry you all those miles. You have to do it yourself.

Your chances of success in life are probably just as good as anyone else’s/

Don’t shortchange yourself through fear or a preconceived notion that the cards are stacked against you.

At the Boston Marathon, Heartbreak Hill is at mile 18.  There are mile 18s in everyone’s life.

Some come earlier in the race. Some later.

But wherever you find them, you can overcome them.

Running a marathon is not about winning the race against 38,000 other runners. It’s about winning the race against yourself.

Mackay’s Moral: You’ll never turn try into triumph…without adding the umph!