In many ways, working in marketing and running a marathon are not very different. Both require exhaustive planning, sustained effort, impeccable determination and the ability to adapt to the elements. In October 2019, these similarities were never more clear to Marie-Pier Frenette, VP of Marketing at Medicart, as she successfully completed her first marathon.
How did this passion for running develop?
I have always been very active. I used to work out in gyms, but by the time I was 24, gym workouts weren’t enough. I wanted to challenge myself in an activity that gave me both physical and mental benefits. Little by little, I started to go outside to train in order to achieve a certain balance and a sense of well-being. Running came naturally into my life. I quickly became an enthusiast of this discipline because of what it brought me from a psychological point of view, including determination, perseverance and self-confidence.
What is involved in preparing for a marathon?
One word: rigor. You have to be very rigorous in the frequency of your outings and in the distances covered, despite the changing temperatures in Quebec. Obviously, there is a lot of physical preparation to be done before running a marathon, but themental preparation involved should not be underestimated either. You should know that before running a marathon, the preparation requires running 30 km consecutively. It is therefore difficult to fully understand the magnitude of what a marathon represents before the big day, but it is essential to develop your mental endurance
What can a marathon teach us?
There is no doubt in my mind. Running a marathon was an event that made me grow like few things have before. I learned what true self-confidence is. A marathon is within everyone’s reach. You just have to trust yourself and be very disciplined. Running a marathon also taught me a lesson that will stay with me for the rest of my life: to love myself enough to keep going. Of course, there will be moments of doubt, pitfalls and pain. Despite a lot of discipline and preparation, the hard moments were not the ones I anticipated, but the ones I didn’t know existed. At my 32nd kilometer, I felt a paralyzing pain in my legs. I knew that if I stopped running, I wouldn’t be able to run again. That’s when I saw the faces of my peers who were also in pain. I realized that I was not alone and that what we were experiencing had meaning. Despite the glitches and the pain, I learned to see, recognize and appreciate the beauty not only in this sport, but in life in general.
Tips for beginners:
- Be prepared: do your research and ask for advice.
- Listen to your body and your head.
- Allow yourself to be flawed.
- Above all, have fun!