Last year, I spent 18 weeks waking up at 5:00 am each morning to train for one of the most incredible experiences one can have in their lifetime—running the Chicago Marathon.
It had been on my bucket list for many years and after completing a half-marathon the year prior, I rustled up the courage to go for broke and accomplished my first marathon.
As those of you who've also done it, it is an incredible experience I will never forget and hopefully do again.
As I think about all of those brave souls getting ready for this year's Chicago Marathon, I thought about how my personal experience running would have been affected if I could integrate social media into the experience.
Why? To me that's an easy answer.
It's all about encouragement. As much and in as many ways as possible.
You see, outside of top elite runners who finish the race even before I hit mile nine, the rest of us amateur runners feed strength and encouragement off of the thousands of fans who line up to cheer their butts off for the thousands of us who have prepared for that day.
However, in my personal experience, there were more stretches of empty stre...
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