In running circles, someone who runs a marathon is considered a “dedicated runner.” It doesn’t matter if they’ve only run one marathon and had a very slow time, as long as they’ve run a marathon. The percentage of runners who run a marathon used to be about 15% of the total number of runners. I think it might be a little higher today because runners today see a marathon more as a challenge and no longer care if they have to be an Olympic runner to run that distance. Training for a marathon is very time-consuming for a runner.

Watching a marathon takes a good three hours. That’s about as long as IndyCar or NASCAR races. I don’t know why people watch three hours of people and cars doing the same thing over and over again. It’s not the same as watching football, basketball or baseball where the action changes every minute. But watching the Olympic marathon on TV in the middle of the night gives you a whole new perspective. It also makes the next day a real challenge. And then doing the same thing the next night puts the viewer’s mental health even more at risk. But that’s exactly what I did on the last two nights of competition at the Olympics. It took me a couple of days to regain my energy for the day. I could have watched it on replay the next morning, but it’s not the same.

When watching a marathon, you are not so much watching a group of elite runners run, but rather watching race strategy and runner attrition during the race. In both the men’s and women’s marathons, there were a lot of runners at the halfway mark. The pace may seem leisurely to watch, but it is actually faster than the vast majority of runners are used to. By mile 15, the number drops to 12-15 runners. By mile 18, the number drops to 8 runners. By mile 20, there are almost six runners. By mile 23, there are about four fewer runners. And then it comes down to which of the last runners can maintain that pace and even spurt in a final 26-mile sprint. Among the medalists in the men’s marathon, the time difference was less than a minute. Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia took first place with a time of 2:06:26, setting a new Olympic record. Bashir Abdi came in second with a time of 2:06:47 and Benson Kipruto from Kenya with a time of 2:07:00. In the last 365 meters it was all about which of the last remaining runners could maintain this high pace and win the gold medal. The two American runners Conner Manz and Clayton Young took 8th and 9th place with times of 2:08:12 and 2:08:44.

The women’s marathon was a similar story. A large group at the halfway point and then the gradual decline of runners who could not keep up with the faster pace. The women’s finish was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Four runners were still near the finish. Then three and finally the last two with about 137 meters left to run. After a slight jostling, the two women set off. The fast finish was now a question of which of the two women wanted it more. The Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan broke away and won by three seconds in 2:22:55, followed by the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa in 2:22:58. Third place went to Helen Obiri from Kenya in 2:23:10. All three finished within 15 seconds. The first five marathon runners finished within a minute. For a marathon spectator, it was an exciting race. Dakotah Lindrum from the USA finished 12th with a time of 2:26:44.

Watching athletes in the Olympics and the outstanding performances they put on made an interview with an American gold medalist one reason why there are so many great performances in all sports. I’m not sure what the exact quote was, but it went something like this: When asked, “What does it take to win a gold medal?” she said, “It was many, many hours of training, as well as the support of coaches, family and friends that made it possible.” It is this dedication and extremely hard work in training that viewers never see. They see the end result of the many hours and sacrifices these athletes made to achieve that one brief moment of fame, not realizing the lengths the athletes went to get to that position. Whether it’s the Olympics or a position on a high school or college sports team, it comes down to the hours of training and sacrifices these athletes made to make the team. That is what makes an athlete successful.