Running long distance requires you to enjoy it and want to do it. Without motivation and the will to finish there’s no way you can do it. You have to be physically fit, bad that’s not enough. Your mind plays just an important role, perhaps even a more important one. Much of it lies in conviction and having faith in yourself. If you can dream it, you can do it isn’t just a cliché.
When I signed up for my first marathon, The Great Wall Marathon 1999, I had never trained and considered running to be terribly dull and meaningless. What got me to sign up was a provocation. Once I made the decision I found the motivation and two and half months later I ran my first marathon on the wall. I have completed many a run by a hair’s breadth, on the basis of sheer willpower and motivation. I have run 78 kilometres over an Alp, 100 kilometres in one day, marathons two days on the trot and more than three marathons in 24 hours. If you can dream it, you can do it …